


Absolution

by candygramme, spoonlessone (mistress_mary)



Series: New Day [2]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Brainwashing, Dystopia, Homophobia, M/M, Minor Character Death, Theocracy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-08
Updated: 2014-08-08
Packaged: 2018-02-12 08:36:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 35,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2102718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candygramme/pseuds/candygramme, https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistress_mary/pseuds/spoonlessone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to our 2013 Big Bang story: <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/943063">Who Were You When the New Day Dawned</a>. With the earth now fully under control of the Balanced Earth Society, our heroes turn their attention to rooting out the Fellowship of Divine Light from Mars.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Absolution

**Fic title:** Absolution  
**Author name:** [ ](http://candygramme.livejournal.com/profile)[ **candygramme** ](http://candygramme.livejournal.com/)and [ ](http://spoonlessone.livejournal.com/profile)**spoonlessone**  
**Artist name:**[ **fanlay**](http://fanlay.livejournal.com/)  
**Beta:** [ **laurathelurker**](http://laurathelurker.livejournal.com/)  
**Genre:** RPS  
**Pairing:** Jensen/Jared and Traci Dinwiddie/Julian Richings  
**Rating:** NC-17  
**Word count:** ~35,227  
**Warnings:** Some Character Deaths (Not the J's), dystopian world, theocracy, brainwashing, homophobia  
**Summary:** Sequel to our 2013 Big Bang story: [Who Were You When the New Day Dawned](http://spoonlessone.livejournal.com/60192.html). With the earth now fully under control of the Balanced Earth Society, our heroes turn their attention to rooting out the Fellowship of Divine Light from Mars.

 

_Balance Bob says:_

_Come on, kids, let’s play a game  
Conservation is our aim!_

_In, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight._  
Out, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

Traci consciously counted out her breaths and focused on the candle flame she’d placed directly in her line of vision. She was seated in the lotus position, with her hands relaxed palm upwards on her knees. She hadn’t needed these physical cues to drop into a trance state for years, decades even, but today something was interfering with her focus. And she had a nagging feeling that there was something critical that she needed to see. She had to focus, but she kept finding herself dreading whatever vision waited just beyond her reach. Normally all she needed was to close her eyes and relax, and she could slip straight into the right mindset, but even that thought itself was a distraction. “Focus, Traci!” she said aloud.

She took a break for a cup of the fragrant herbal tea that she’d grown herself from seeds smuggled in from Earth on one of Jared's trips to Mars to deliver scrap materials for repurposing. She found comfort in the almost ritual motions of brewing tea the old-fashioned way, in a teapot. She did use the replicator for her first cup in the morning, but she brewed any other tea she had by hand. Now she took her time, enjoying the fragrance, sipping it slowly, until she realized that she was procrastinating, avoiding that which must be done. Then, somewhat reluctantly, she returned to her meditation chamber, determined to succeed this time.

Eventually she did manage to achieve the meditative state necessary for her inner sight to begin working. Once the vision took her, she was helpless, trapped. She only had a moment to think that such a thing hadn’t happened to her for decades, before her attention was riveted to the scene playing in her mind’s eye.

Almost before she saw anything, she felt the hum. The floor, the walls, the furniture, _everything_ was vibrating. Donna Ackles was trapped within a transparent bubble small enough that she was forced to kneel. She was frantically banging on the plasteel walls, screaming, obviously frightened out of her mind. The room was oddly silent, the sounds Donna made somehow contained within the dome.

Traci noted all of this immediately, cataloguing it all with a practiced mind. Then the vibrations increased in intensity, vibrating faster, and stronger, and faster and stronger, until she could see the barely visible walls of Donna’s cell vibrating as well. Donna’s skin was twitching and she could no longer control her movements well enough to continue pounding on the walls. Then Traci’s mind snapped away just as Donna’s body exploded, spattering all over the inside of her transparent cell.

~*~ 

Traci came back to consciousness gradually, finding herself slumped on the floor in her meditation chamber. She was vaguely surprised when she wiped her hand across her face that it didn’t come away bloody. She didn’t usually get nosebleeds with her visions anymore, but then she couldn’t remember ever having a stronger vision than this one. The only one approaching this in magnitude was when she’d foreseen Matt Cohen.... She stopped that thought in its tracks. They’d only managed to make that situation worse, but she didn’t have a clue what _worse_ would look like when the vision was as devastating and unambiguous as this one was. She prayed to a God she hadn’t believed in for decades that Jensen would be strong enough to handle what she’d just foreseen. Prophecy was a delicate thing, and even when they did manage to change an event, something worse always seemed to happen. This time, though, she had to try. Her usual response of attempting to mitigate the fallout just wouldn’t do in this situation.

She stumbled back into her kitchen, hitting the default meal button on her replicator and mechanically consuming the black tea with honey and the nutritious, light-tasting biscuit as she waited for her brain to come back online. Suitably fortified, she placed a call to Julian and waited for him to secure the line.

“Julian, can you contact Jensen?” Traci asked, hoping he wouldn’t notice how rattled she was. It was not to be.

“Whoa, hold on. What’s wrong?” Traci appreciated Julian trying to calm her down, but she needed to talk to Jensen _right now_. On second thought, Julian was probably more right to put the brakes on than he knew. The last thing she needed to do was talk to Jensen, before she had thought things through. And Julian was just the person to help her to do that. She made a mental note to thank him later, before she took a breath and answered him.

“They’re going to execute her! Donna! We have to tell Jensen.” The frantic note in her voice startled her, making her even more thankful that she’d talked to Julian first.

“Are you sure that’s the wisest course? You know what happens when we meddle with Prophecy.”

“Probably not, but I can’t keep this from him. He’d never understand. No-one would, really, but him least of all. He’s only been fully free for a decade.” Julian would know what she meant, Traci knew. He always had. That’s why he was the perfect partner for her. Too bad he couldn’t stay with her, be with her the way they both longed for, but this was what they had to do to see this thing through. And there had never been any doubt that they would see it through.

“Okay,” Julian agreed. “What will you say to him? Does he even know that she was taken?”

“Yes,” Traci answered. “He was at the last meeting.” Traci knew that Julian’s attention was always primarily on maintaining the integrity and privacy of their holo-conferences, so he didn’t always remember who was privy to what. She was glad that the process she’d developed to focus her Seer abilities had also focused her mind, making her ability to recall this sort of detail virtually automatic.

“So what will you say?” Julian asked again.

Sighing, Traci thought about that. She knew that a matter-of-fact approach would be best with Jensen, and she knew that she had to appear to be relatively calm. If she was too agitated, he would pick up on that, and it would increase his emotional response. And they really needed to avoid reacting too emotionally. She knew that she had to try to explain to him what happened when they messed with the Prophecies. “I have to be straight with him. I have to tell him what I saw. And I have to come clean about Matt. All of it. And what our response will be, following that, has to be his choice.”

“Okay,” Julian responded. “It’s nearly … 5 am there.” Traci pictured him looking up at the clock on his wall that always showed current Earth time. Then she processed what he’d said and remembered that the relative times of the two planets were very close right now. That meant it must be… She gave up on trying to do the calculation and just looked at her personal assistive device’s chronometer. 4:15. Great. No real sleep for her now, and likely none to be found until night had come around again. “I’ll leave a message for both him and Jared, that Jensen should contact us right away. I’m sure you’ll have time for a cup of tea and to collect your thoughts before they notice the alert.”

“I’m sorry for waking you,” Traci said. “I’ll wait for your call.”

“Anytime, love,” Julian answered. “You know that. This burden you bear, it is too much for just one.”

~*~

Traci took her time brewing yet more tea, this time opting for a calming herbal drink rather than a more stimulating blend. She thought back on the time around Matt’s death. Very few people knew the whole truth. She hadn’t even told Richard, though he had been right there with her and Julian as the resistance movement was born. She knew how close he and Matt had been, and she had wanted to spare him. Perhaps that had been a mistake since it all had to come out now anyway. Well, no point second-guessing now.

She took a few calming breaths, not trying for a meditative state, but just enjoying her tea. By the time the alert came, she was much more relaxed. She poured another cup and took it with her to the little room set aside with the holo-conferencing equipment. She signed on and waited as Julian synced her equipment with his and confirmed the security protocols. Holographic images appeared around the table as Julian checked and cleared their connections. It wouldn’t do for the Fellowship to intercept any of this.

Jared was first, and Traci was pleased to see him. They had only asked for Jensen, but knowing Julian, he’d added a code Jared would know meant he should sit in. Jensen would need his support before this was finished. Following protocol, nobody spoke until everyone was present, and Julian signaled a clean transmission, certain that there were no spying eyes or ears. Jensen was next, a bit more bleary-eyed than Jared, and Traci remembered the early hour. But there was no help for it.

At Julian’s signal, she began. “Gentlemen, I’ve had a dire vision. I am sorry Jensen, but your mother will be executed in the very near future.” She waited as both boys expressed their shock and dismay, and wished that they were physically together. But that was impossible given that Jensen had a government to oversee, and Jared had a spaceship to finish building.

“Is there any chance it can be stopped?” Jensen was the one to ask the obvious question and Traci marveled at his composure.

“I’m afraid it’s highly unlikely. And I’m not sure it’s the wisest course of action. We’ve had … disastrous results when we’ve tried to alter Prophecy. Especially when the timeline is short, and I’ve had such a strong vision.” Traci paused a moment to center herself. “I have a confession to make, and a story to tell that will hopefully explain what I mean. But ultimately the decision of how we proceed must be Jensen’s. He has the most at stake.”

She paused and waited for their response. Jared and Jensen looked at each other before Jensen met Traci’s eyes and nodded for her to continue.

“I think you both know that when Matt died, I saw it happen in a vision, much as I did with your mother, today. But that’s not exactly the truth. What I saw was Matt being taken, and forcibly re-educated. I believe it was our efforts to prevent his capture that ultimately led to Matt’s death. We didn’t tell anyone, because we wanted to spare them. Mostly we didn’t tell them because we were cowards, we didn’t want to admit that we had been to blame. Jensen, I’m so sorry-”

“It’s not your fault, Traci,” Jensen interrupted her downward spiral. “You didn’t know, and there was no reason to tell anyone. Let’s all try to think rationally and decide what to do about the current Prophecy.” He was obviously carefully avoiding mentioning the subject of the Prophecy, but Traci was still amazed at how well he was keeping it together.

Jared looked away for a few moments, apparently speaking to someone outside of the radius of the transmission, and then focused back on the call. “Jensen, I’ve sent the dart for you. It’ll be there in ten minutes, and you can hop over to Dallas whenever you’re ready after we’re done here.”

“Thanks, babe.” Jensen let his blank mask fall for a moment, and fleetingly looked both devastated and relieved. Traci couldn’t imagine the emotions he must be feeling right now, but he pulled it together again to address the group. “I think I want to try to stop it. I think we all need to try to stop it. Not just for me and Mom, but we need to stop this senseless terrorizing of our people. We’ll go carefully, do our best not to cause a backlash and some worse outcome or something on a bigger scale. Whatever the case, I think we must get to Mars. I need to be there as soon as possible.”

“You know the JTP is on its way to Mars already with Richard and Misha’s diplomatic delegation, right?” Jared asked cautiously.

“Oh, right." Jensen closed his eyes briefly. I’d forgotten the ship was gone. Can we call it back? That might be a good idea anyway so that Richard and Misha aren’t walking in blind.”

Jared looked away again, obviously checking instruments. “It’s too late. They’re already on approach to Deimos and the planet is blocking our signal right now anyway.”

“I’ll try to get someone to them on Deimos before they’re processed, so at least they’ll have some warning,” Julian put in from his position at the foot of the table, monitoring the signals.

“The Impala is practically finished. Ty and I planned to run some sims, but we can do that today, and if all goes well, which I’m pretty sure it will, we can leave first thing in the morning?” Jared offered.

“Okay, I’ll wrap things up here and come to Dallas as soon as I can.” Jensen answered before glancing away for a moment. “Tom just told me the dart is here. Let me see who I can convince to run the colony while I’m away, and I’ll be there shortly, Jay. Traci, Julian, we should try to talk again this evening? I think our times are close right now, and we should coordinate things once our plans are more solid. Julian, please let us know if anything develops on the Richard and Misha front? I have a really unpleasant feeling about their trip now.”

“And Traci, please don’t blame yourself for anything. We don’t, and I’m sure no-one else will either, including Richard,” Jared added.

“Thanks boys,” Traci said. “And, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I wish I hadn’t needed to bring you such horrible news.”

They finalized their plans for another call that evening, said their goodbyes, and the boys signed off. Julian hung around for a bit longer.

“They’re right, you know,” Julian said softly. “It’s not your fault. And we will get through this, just like we have everything else.”

“I know,” Traci sighed. Julian always knew just what to say. “Until later, then. And thanks.”

“Have a good day, love. I’ll be in touch if I hear anything from my contacts on Deimos. You should go and try to get some sleep while you still can.”

She signed off and went to meditate for another hour or so before starting her day. She had planned to visit the temple today, and still intended to go, despite the news about Donna. She was sure her status still protected her, and it would be good to put in an appearance. Nicki would meet her at the temple and use her empathy talent to read the populace, while Traci relied on the instincts that had always alerted her to unrest. The combination of the two was proving formidable as the Guardians escalated their crackdown on the population of Righteousness.

~*~

 

_Hi, kids, Balance Bob says:_

_Glass and paper, plastic, tin  
All go in your recycling bin_

Julian Richings gazed at his comscreen regretfully. He knew - nobody knew better - that he and Traci each had their parts to play in defeating the Fellowship of the Light, and that those roles weren’t over yet. But it had already been a long hard path that they had trodden, with still further yet to go, and it had cost them both dearly. Julian was tired.

He turned to the wall beside his workstation to gaze at the holo of his beloved Traci, sending silent thoughts of love and longing to her and wishing for the thousandth time that the two of them could walk away from the battle and be together at last. Sighing, he stood, taking in Traci’s thick, dark hair, her laughing brown eyes, the silver gleam of the left hand he’d built for her when her own had been lost in the shuttle crash that had first brought them together, and the gleefully mischievous smile he hadn’t seen for far too long. They’d taken the holos the last time they were together, and then gone their separate ways, Traci to assume and develop her role as the Seer, so deeply loved by the population that she was as safe as it was possible to be from the persecution by Rolston and his confreres, and he to retreat underground, hermit-like, to develop the new technologies and psionics that they knew would be needed in their fight to free Mars from the Fellowship’s oppressive rule.

They’d decided that they could not afford to meet more than on a handful of occasions, in case it might reveal Julian’s existence. Julian had set up his workshop deep underground, where he’d excavated tunnels under the city of Righteousness that he and his assistants could use to access the temple where Rolston and his minions ruled.

He turned back to his workbench. He was perfecting an insert that, once married to the neurological nexus at the base of the corpus callosum, would enable the Martian freedom fighters to communicate telepathically. His fertile brain, and the gadgets he created, were in truth the reason that the resistance had been able to insert themselves so deeply into the society that had been developed by the so-called Guardians of the Light, and this particular creation of his was the first time he’d made a foray into bio-engineering. He hoped it would work.

He had just finished the task he’d set himself and was about to put the completed chip into his replicator to begin the manufacturing process, when he heard a low cough. Turning, he saw Sebastian standing at the doorway.

“Hey, old man,” Sebastian called, his cultured tones full of affection. “Still tinkering? Can I persuade you to take a break for five minutes?”

“I may be old, but I could still teach you a thing or two, you young whippersnapper.” Julian completed his task methodically, and then flipped the switch to begin the replication process. Once he was satisfied that it was underway, he led Sebastian out of the workshop and into a small breakfast nook. “What will you have? I know you’re a growing boy.”

“Just coffee, please.” Julian had taken a seat, but he knew better than to ask the eternally restless Sebastian to sit, contenting himself to watch as the man prowled back and forth.

“Don’t you think a soporific would be more help for you than a stimulant?” said Julian, smirking as he waited for the inevitable response. He’d already programmed Sebastian’s favorite brew, and he sat back to enjoy the howl of protest he knew his assistant would make. Sure enough, Sebastian began to go through all the accusations of cruelty that were his response to anyone attempting to cut off his caffeine supply.

“Oh, shut up,” laughed Julian, passing over the mug containing Sebastian’s drug of choice. “Frankly, I prefer to drink water and leave the mood altering substances to others,” he said.

“Yes, that’s why you’re no fun, old man.” Sebastian sipped the rich, fragrant brew and moaned theatrically. “I always get the very best when I sneak out to see you. That’s why I spend so much time here.”

“So was there a reason why you came to visit me this time, other than for my superlative skills with a replicator?” Julian arched his eyebrow at Sebastian as he scrutinized the other man’s face. “Did Rolston do something particularly appalling, or are you just trying to escape the tedium of having to constantly listen to petty confessions? Seriously, is there anyone left who dares to commit a real sin these days?”

“You’d be surprised, old man. Venery is constant in every society.” Sebastian waggled his eyebrows at Julian. “Righteousness is a hotbed of sexual misconduct despite the laws that Rolston tries so hard to enforce. Why only this morning a woman told me about how she and...”

“Thank you, Seb, but I really don’t want to hear any of your bawdy tales today. I’m not in the mood.” Julian cut across the other man’s anecdote somewhat sharply. How he wished Traci was here to deal with Sebastian. Julian was fond of the man, but he was incredibly adolescent in his behavior at times. “What did you actually come to tell me?”

“Oh, yes. I quite forgot.” Sebastian bit his lip. “Speight and Collins touched down on Deimos an hour or so ago.” He raised his finger as Julian began to speak. “I’m not done. Heyerdahl issued instructions that they be detained and brought down to the temple immediately. Rolston intends to try and execute them as soon as a broadcast to Earth can be set up. He thinks that it will restore the path to the Light amongst the apostates on Earth. I thought you should know.”

“This is dreadful news.” Julian felt a trickle of fear tingle down his spine at Sebastian’s words. “Traci foresaw that Donna’s execution is to be this morning. She was afraid to intervene for fear that something worse would come of it, but I want to do something. We have to curb Rolston’s reign of terror. He’s gone too far now.”

Seb laid a hand on Julian’s shoulder, for once remaining still and ceasing his restless prowling. “I don’t think you’ll be able to do anything about Donna,” he said, his voice kind. “In five minutes give or take, she will have been returned to the Light.”

Julian rose to his feet, anger causing him to shake with its intensity. “Don’t spout their stupid dogma, Seb. You know it’s all bullshit.”

“I’m sorry.” The other man hung his head. “Occupational hazard, I’m afraid. I’ve been in that temple far too long. I’m praying for the day that I can strip off this Guardian’s uniform and just be plain Scholar Roche again.”

“Hang in, Seb.” Julian nodded, sympathy shining from his eyes. “To be honest, I think that this is the beginning of the revolution. It won’t be much longer before the people rebel. Donna is well loved by almost everyone except Rolston and his cronies.” He set Sebastian’s empty cup down and turned to go back to his workshop. “Before you go, I would like to gift you with my latest development. It will enable you to communicate with me telepathically, and to the others, once they also have the chip in place.”

“Lead me to it!” Sebastian hurried after him. “You always think up the best surprises!”

Back in the workshop, the replicator had spat out a little pile of the small, silvery items that matched the thing he’d been making before Sebastian had arrived, and Julian picked one up with a set of tiny pliers. “It’s semi-sentient, and I’ve designed it to settle itself into the place in your brain where the two hemispheres cross. All you need to do is place it in the roof of your mouth and refrain from chewing it. It will do the rest. I’ve incorporated a kind of venom in it which will numb the process as it’s working its way in, but the effects are fleeting, and there will be very little pain.”

“Very cool.” Sebastian eyed it a little warily, but he opened his mouth without complaint and allowed Julian to insert the chip, grimacing as he felt it give a little wriggle and begin to find its way to its destination. “How far will the communication by thought reach? If I’m in the temple, will I be able to reach you from there?” he asked, lisping slightly as the chip bored its way into his palate.

“I have yet to establish quite how far it will be able to penetrate. I believe it would certainly be able to transmit up to Deimos, when Deimos is in the ascendant, and of course thoughts can travel between the temple and here.” As Julian was speaking he was putting two more chips into a small envelope along with a pair of forceps. “If you can supply Nicki with one and explain its function, that would be excellent. Also, if you can swing it, Traci is due to go to the temple library this afternoon. It would be a blessing if she too could have one. Be careful not to touch it with your fingers though. That will short out the circuitry.”

“I’ll see what I can do, my friend.” Sebastian took the proffered envelope and tucked it into his pouch. “I must return to my duties before I’m missed, but once this thing takes its effect, I should be able to talk to you without making the trek down your endless tunnels.” He turned and went to the airlock that kept the atmosphere breathable in Julian’s workshop. “I’m looking forward to that.” Reaching for his P-suit, he turned to give Julian a hug. “See you on the airwaves, old man.”

Julian watched him step inside the airlock and stood listening to the soft whoosh of the pumps as the air was forced back to empty the lock. So Donna was now dead, or would be at any moment. He really hoped that the work that she and Traci had done to set up the cult that served as their method of recruiting for the rebellion had progressed enough that the execution of Donna, the overt head, would foment even more unrest. He really didn’t want Traci to have to step out of the shadows and put herself in more danger, and he would feel horribly guilty if it turned out that Donna had died in vain. Closing his eyes for a moment, he gave in to the pain that crept into his heart whenever he reflected on their long years of enforced separation, coupled with the dread of losing the love of his life if things went wrong the way he knew they very well could.

He had always remained on the sidelines, the shadowy man that didn’t exist. He’d left Righteousness years earlier, fading away before the final census that had documented all the inhabitants of Mars had been implemented, and he was pretty sure that the Fellowship was not even aware that he existed. As long as he was able to remain outside of their system he would be able to continue his work, developing the augmentations that they hoped would give the revolution its edge. He’d been anxiously awaiting the delegation from Earth, and currently he was hoping he could find a way to get a chip to Misha, because without Misha’s input he would be less than fully effective. Perhaps Nicki would be able to help with that, now that Misha was apparently going to be housed in the temple.

He sighed again. Really, he needed to think positively and stop dwelling on the past, and what might have been. Flicking a switch, he tuned his screen into the feed he had from the temple to see if he could locate Nicki, or better yet Traci. To his surprise, the temple seemed deserted, and after searching fruitlessly for several minutes he switched to a view of the square in front of the temple. What he saw there horrified him. The execution was being displayed to all rather than taking place in the recycling banks within the temple. He surveyed the scene. Row upon row of Guardians stood at attention, and Rolston, standing with Heyerdahl on the balcony above the square, was declaiming from a scroll, lecturing the people gathered below. Down on a terrace beneath him, enclosed in a plasteel dome, was Donna Ackles. It seemed as if the entire population of Righteousness had been mandated to attend the event that was unfolding, and there were shouts and screams as people began to realize what was happening. Then there was a low, rumbling sound that seemed to make the people in the square, Guardians and citizens alike, stumble and cover their ears. A moment later the inside of the plasteel dome was slicked with red, and Donna Ackles was merely a memory.

Sickened at what he’d just seen, Julian turned off his monitor and sat staring into space as he pondered how it might be possible for any human being to treat others of their kind in such a barbaric way, then he shook himself and rose to his feet. It was done. Traci had said it would happen, and it hadn’t taken long for her vision to come true. He wondered how he would ever be able to talk to Jensen, and wasn’t looking forward to their conversation later that day. He hoped Sebastian would get the chips to Nicki and Traci, and that between them they could put an end to the cruelties that were being perpetrated in the name of the Light. Checking the time, he decided that he would best prepare for what was to come by getting enough rest to face it and play his part. Making for his sleeping cubicle, he lay down and prepared to seek oblivion until there was something concrete that he could do. Popping a gel capsule under his tongue to assist his search for unconsciousness, he closed his eyes and accepted the darkness that rose to greet him.

~*~

 

_Balance Bob says:_

_Kids, we need to stop pollution  
recycling is our solution_

Jensen forced his worry and panic to the back of his mind as he set things in motion so that the government of their growing colony could continue in his absence. Richard had tied up all of his loose ends before he left, but inevitably things had cropped up in the week or so that he’d been gone. He sent a message to Jim Beaver to come to Tulsa as soon as he could and then made notes on all of his pending issues so someone else could finalize them. It wasn’t long before he heard a commotion in the main room of the Equality Center where they’d set up their government. He’d been expecting the invasion, and painted a smile on his face before going out to meet everyone for the coffee break they were in the habit of taking mid-morning.

As soon as he walked into the room, everyone stopped talking and turned to look at him. Obviously his attempt to act as if nothing was wrong had fallen flat.

“What’s wrong?” Mike asked, his sorrow and apprehension already all over his face, even though he didn’t know anything yet. Jensen must be doing worse than he thought at controlling his emotions.

“Traci has had a vision. My mother's going to be executed sometime in the very near future.” Jensen knew his tone was flat, but it was all he could do to keep his emotions in check. He didn’t want to break down in front of everyone. He’d hoped to be able to sit down with a couple of shots of really strong coffee before spilling it all, but it seemed that his friends were too observant for that. Either that or he was too obvious. Probably both.

Collective gasps filled the room as his friends processed his news. Tom, always the first to respond, poured him the much needed coffee while Mike stood to pull out his chair and patted his hand absently once he was seated. Alona got him a pastry from the plate in the center of the table, a lemon one, his favorite.

“What will you do?” asked Tom, ever the practical one.

“I have to go to Mars,” Jensen answered. “I doubt we can do anything, but I have to be there. And with Richard and Misha arriving any minute now, not knowing anything about this, I fear what’s going to happen to them. Jared and I should get there as soon as we possibly can.”

“How will you get there?” asked Alona curiously. “Richard and Misha are already on their way in Jared’s ship.”

“Jared, Misha and Ty have been working on what they call a stealth ship for the past year or so. Jared says it’s about ready, and he’s running simulations with it today. We’ll be leaving in the morning so long as nothing goes horribly wrong before then.”

“Who’s going to be here to run the colony?” Tom asked.

“I have asked Jim Beaver to come, and I was hoping that you would help him, Tom. I haven’t asked him yet either.” As if the mention of his name had summoned him, Jim rushed into the building. Apparently Jensen hadn’t been very subtle in that conversation either. Jensen knew his friends would never fault him for it and supposed that he shouldn’t feel as guilty about it as he did just then.

Jim stopped dead as soon as he cleared the doorway, gauging the atmosphere in the room. Tom poured yet another cup of coffee and set it in front of an empty chair as everyone waited for Jim to join them.

“What’s up?” Jim asked warily as he sat down.

Jensen took a deep breath before answering, “Traci had a vision. My mother is going to be executed for treason against Balance knows what. I’m pretty sure that it’ll go down before we can get there, but Jared and I are going to Mars anyway, on the stealth ship they’ve been building. I wanted to ask if you and Tom would take over the running of the colony while I’m gone.”

Jim, never one to mince words, waited until Jensen had gotten it all out before answering. “Whatever you need, son.”

Jensen turned to Tom, but before he could get any words out, Tom was nodding, “Of course we will.” Jensen was glad, because he suddenly had a lump in his throat that he wasn’t sure he could talk around. He took a moment to be thankful for the friends he’d found in the Balanced Earth Society, the rag-tag group of outcasts and mutants that had somehow succeeded in becoming the official government of the colony on Earth.

It took him an hour to explain his notes to Jim and Tom and then another half hour for him to pack. The dart was waiting outside on the landing pad, and Jensen tossed his bag into the cockpit, hastily activating the autopilot to take him to Dallas and Jared. In a matter of moments, he was there, and he hadn’t even gotten completely out of the jetcar before Jared had hauled him into his arms, comforting him with his very presence.

Jensen took a deep breath and finally felt able to let go of the emotions he’d been bottling up all morning. He shed a few tears into Jared’s shoulder before pulling himself together again. As he started to pull away from Jared’s embrace, Jared pulled him in tighter and murmured into the hair behind his ear, “I’m so sorry, love.”

Jensen settled in to the safety and security he always felt in his partner’s arms for another moment before moving away from the jetcar and into the main workspace of the hangar. Ty Olsson pulled his head out from under the instrument console of the sleek, matte charcoal of the ship’s superstructure. “Hey Jensen,” he sent a small smile his way that Jensen knew he intended to be comforting before turning to Jared. “Jared, can you hit the stealth 3 sim again? There’s some weird anomaly, and I want to watch with the meters plugged in. Besides, that’ll give you and your boy some time to talk.”

Jared barely let go of Jensen for long enough to hit the required buttons on the console before guiding him back into the room that Misha, Jared, and Ty normally used as an office and shutting the door.

Jensen didn’t really know how he felt about Ty. Their relationship was complex to say the least. On the one hand, Ty was literally his oldest friend. He was the only one left other than Jared that he’d known from his time as Eric Brady. And while he appreciated that Ty had been looking out for him during those years, he almost resented that the man hadn’t at least tried to tell him the truth. Rationally, he knew that to do so wouldn’t have been a good idea at all and would have put all of them in even more danger, but he still didn’t like that Ty had known the truth about who he really was the whole time, while he’d been kept in the dark. And now Jared was spending most of his time with Ty (Misha, as well, although somehow Misha didn’t even count) and Ty had even taken to going on Jared’s periodic supply runs to Mars. Those runs used to be the times that Jensen and Jared had used to reconnect and recover from their crazy lives. The JTP didn’t really have room for more than two, and Jared seemed to be the only one who could pilot it reliably, although Misha had recently managed to make it work for him to a certain degree. His task in the Lone Star Colony complete now that Jensen knew his identity, Ty’s presence was more often than not needed on Mars by Traci, the one who had originally placed him near Jensen, so Jared and Ty had taken to making the runs, leaving Jensen to assume more and more of the burden of governing.

Jensen didn’t really have time to go running off to Mars every couple of months anyway. As he had become more and more involved in the government and working to coordinate the various enclaves they kept finding, he’d found that, not only did he no longer have time to go flying off to Mars, but that he barely even had time to sleep. They’d just in the past month found a new enclave which had grown up around the old OKC Guardian Outpost in Chickasha that actually wanted to bring the Fellowship back to Earth. They weren’t a serious threat to the new regime, but sometimes Jensen just didn’t get people. Offer them freedom, and they’d rather go back to the old tyranny. It seemed their major complaints were that mutants comprised over a third of the legislative body. Jensen had been trying to convince them that if they wanted a more representative number of legislators, some of them had to vote, and maybe even run for office. But they barely paid him any attention. Jensen had gotten exasperated at their last meeting the previous day and flat out asked them why they wouldn’t listen to what he was telling them. An obviously young voice had piped up, “Because you’re gay. Duh! Abomination!” before being shushed by his minders. Jensen was more than ready for Richard to be back, but he and Misha had barely been gone a week of their planned six week absence. That’s why he’d asked for Jim to come up and take the reins, instead of just appointing Tom, who had already been assisting him. If Jensen wasn’t making any progress, how much worse would it be for Tom, who was actually partnered with a male mutant? Tom would understand and explain all of their recent troubles to Jim. Jim was always able to cut through bullshit and go straight to the point, so maybe this was going to be a good thing.

“How are you, really?” Jared’s voice cut into his thought spiral, and he opened his mouth to complain yet again about the backward morons in Chickasha before the current situation crashed into his thoughts again.

“I don’t know,” Jensen answered honestly. “I’ve been distracting myself with work stuff since the call this morning, but I don’t think I’ve been doing it any justice.”

“They’ll figure the work stuff out.” Jared smoothed his hand over Jensen’s shoulder, and he let some of his tension go a little as the warmth of the caress grounded him. “Did Jim come up from OKC?”

“Yeah.” Jensen nodded. That lump in his throat was back, and he coughed a little before adding. “Came running in forty five minutes after I called him, asking what he could do to help. Everyone’s been...” He choked off the words, unable to complete his sentence. “I thought I’d be able to meet her again one day, if we ever managed to win the battle against Rolston and his cronies. Now I know it’s never going to happen, because I wasn’t fast enough. I’ve failed, Jay.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Jen.” Jared pulled him close again, tipping his chin up so he could gaze into his eyes. “You can’t do everything single-handedly, man. I hate to break it to you, but you’re not God, and you’ve done everything you can possibly do without someone actually cloning you. Frankly I’d love them to clone you. That way one of you can do all the work, and I can have the other one to snuggle with and pass me my tools. It gets lonely with just Ty’s ugly mug to look at all the time.”

“I heard that!” Ty’s voice sounded over the intercom, and Jared snickered against Jensen’s cheek, the familiar buzz of it giving Jensen the comfort he craved.

“Love you,” he whispered, and the warm pressure of Jared’s answering squeeze was enough to let him know that his affection was returned.

~*~

There was so much to be done before they could set off, and so little time in which to do it. Leaving Ty to finish testing the engine one last time, Jared and Jensen rode the jetcar over to what had once been the Temple of the Light, and which now was known as Temple School. It was, among other things, pioneering new methods of farming, overseen by Chad Lindberg, who had developed a way of regulating heat and light that used the radiation grid to maximize the efficiency of both. Between them, Chad and Misha were turning old attitudes around and starting to see the effects of their work make the needed difference as the once polluted earth began yielding crops once more. More and more of the Lone Star community were becoming self-sufficient, and, as they thrived, Misha had developed a campaign to teach the children coming into the world to treasure the earth, in the hopes that there would never be another Endtime. Already, the Balance Bob senso show was a kiddie favorite, and Misha’s face was likely to be seen wherever there was a child with a PAD.

Chad was waiting for them when they landed, and at Jensen’s request took them down to see Gabe and Katie, who instantly began setting aside supplies to be delivered to Love Field before the morning. It wasn’t long before Chad noticed how stressed Jensen was and took him aside.

“Dude, you have to try this stuff. It’s the best I’ve managed to grow so far. One or two tokes and the world will be your friend.” He held out a slim smoking tube to Jensen, who looked at it dubiously before putting it to his lips and taking a puff.

His first thought was to cough. The smoke was sweet and unfamiliar, and as it curled into his lungs he felt his muscles lock. He wanted to cough, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, he thought he heard Ty talking to someone, but Ty was back at the field with their ship, so that wasn’t possible.

His head whirled, and he saw sparks around him, dancing like tiny fireflies as they circled. From a long way off, he heard Jared’s voice calling him, but he was frozen in time, watching the fireflies as they performed their complicated ballet. They began to coalesce, forming an image in their depths.

He didn’t know what it was. It seemed to be an old fashioned snow globe, and inside was a tiny figure, turning this way and that as he watched, until all of a sudden the glass was obscured by red.

“Jen.” He realized that someone was shaking him. He took a deep breath at last and felt his body slowly become real to him again.

“Jared?” Turning, he buried himself in his lover’s arms, turned his face towards his neck and clung, feeling shaky and strange. “I feel really fucking weird.”

Chad had swiftly reclaimed his spliff, and was hovering, a little worried at Jensen’s strange reaction. “Dude, you okay?”

Not really sure whether he was okay or not, Jensen allowed Jared to support him until he stopped feeling as if all his muscles had turned to liquid. He tried to make sense of what he’d seen during the few moments when he’d been completely taken by the drug, but nothing made sense.

“I don’t think that shit’s good for me,” he murmured to Chad as Jared released him to stand on his own. Chad smirked a little, but nodded as he raised the blunt to his own lips and drew on it.

“More for me,” was all he said.

Katie came over to stand beside them, a PAD in her hand. “Jensen, I’ve got the list of stuff you asked for, if you want to check it out. Give me the word, and I’ll get a drone over to Love Field for you. Travis and AJ are standing by to help load the stuff up and...”

As she was speaking, Gabe came up the stairs, calling for Jensen and Jared. “You guys, we’ve got a call for you from Traci. You’d best hurry, because reception isn’t great.”

Jensen hurriedly signed off on Katie’s list and quickly followed Gabe and Jared. As he reached the screen that was dedicated to transmissions from Mars, he could hear Traci’s voice amidst the crackling and hissing that happened whenever Mars was affected by one of the many bodies that came between her and the earth,

“What did I miss?” he asked, straining his ears to make sense of the choppy sounds as reception began to break up.

“She says we need to take Ty with us,” murmured Jared.

“Ty?” Jensen frowned. “Did she say why?”

“She might have done, but I couldn’t make head nor tail of what she was saying a lot of the time.” Jared turned to Gabe. “Any chance of your gizmos being able to piece the message together?”

“We can try, but the first thing she said was that you don’t have a lot of time.” Gabe ducked his head not wanting to give them bad news. “I don’t think you should wait for us to work our magic, if we even have any that will work. I think you need to head out as soon as you can.”

Jared flipped open his PAD and scanned his contacts. “Ty? How close are we to being ready to go?””

“I guess we’re as good as we’ll ever be without doing any real testing.” Ty’s rough voice sounded amused. “Why? You got somewhere to be?”

“Oh, hell, yeah.” Jared sounded almost gleeful. “Pack your bags, baby. We’re heading out.”

~*~

In the end, their departure was low key. Three hours after their receipt of Traci’s transmission, supplies had been loaded, and they were on their way. The stealth ship was very different from the JTP. Where Jared’s craft was like a bubble, round and compact, without any gravitational field to keep its occupants from floating and with only the cockpit as a living space, the new craft was sleek and dart shaped, and had actual sleeping quarters and storage space as well as the main control room. Like the JTP, the stealth ship responded better to Jared than anyone else, but since Jared loved to fly that didn’t seem to be a problem.

Jensen was a little disgruntled at the thought that Ty would be traveling with them, but he was anxious to get to Mars as soon as possible and save the mother he had only seen a handful of times in the past ten years.

Jared, practical and unflappable as always, had set the ship in motion, lifting it from the ground and holding it steady a scant few feet from the concrete while Ty did the final set of readings, and Jensen, without a task with which to occupy himself, sat and fretted, until Ty asked him to stop thinking so loudly, whereupon he went to busy himself checking out the supplies that AJ and Travis had stacked in their storage locker.

Once Ty had given the okay, Jared had guided the craft out of the hangar where she’d been built, tilted her nose up towards the sky and engaged the anti-grav drive. Within a minute she was gone from Earth, arrowing her way silently through the atmosphere and beyond to leave it behind.

She was faster than the JTP, with assisted propulsion that harnessed gravitational pull by other heavenly bodies, and Jared had told Jensen that they would make full use of that until such time as they reached the orbits of Phobos and Deimos. He would have to turn off what he called the A drive at that point and depend entirely on the G drive until they were on the ground, but they were so much faster than the JTP that they would be able to make Mars within three days, at which point they would be able to test their stealth capabilities and see if they could sidestep the Guardians to arrive without Rolston and his regime being any the wiser.

~*~

 

_And now a word from Balance Bob:_

_Kids, we’ve only got one Earth  
so please remember what she’s worth_

The direct comm. link to Earth was out of action and could not be expected to resume until Phobos had cleared the line of sight some seven hours in the future. Traci hoped that her message had been heard and understood, and that Ty would be coming with Jensen and Jared to Mars. She had foreseen this turning point, knew that if she couldn’t muster all her forces that they would be doomed to failure, and she was praying with everything she had that her message had gotten through, and that Ty would be present with his telepathic ability to plant suggestions into peoples’ minds. They would need that in order to ensure that they had a chance in the forthcoming battle.

Closing her eyes, she sent out a call for Nicki and Sebastian to make their way to Julian’s workshop. Julian’s innovative piece of genetically manipulated firmware had ensured that they now had a successful and secure method of communicating between themselves. Nicki had laughed and called the device a Babelfish after the one Douglas Adams had written about, and, somehow, the name had stuck. They were now possessed of a powerful medium for communication, and excited by his success Julian was busily attempting to create similar new technology with the goal in mind that it would enhance a person’s ability if they were latent telekinetics. Traci wasn’t sure if he’d manage it, but she could think of all kinds of uses for such a thing if he succeeded.

“I can’t make it.” Sebastian’s voice filled her mind. “I’ve apparently been a bad, bad boy and offended Heyerdahl, so I’m stuck swabbing floors in the holding cells. It’s to teach me humility and the error of my ways.”

“Oh, no. What did you do?” Traci smiled a little. Trust Sebastian to transgress. If there was a way to annoy someone, you could be sure he’d find it. She was convinced that he did it purely for devilment, but it was damned inconvenient at times.

“I’m afraid I dared to draw his attention to the cracks in the plasteel at the base of the dome,” said Sebastian. “You must have experienced the seismic activity that’s been going on lately. We’re not that far from the volcanic activity in Elysium, and when the Guardians first landed on the Northern Plain, they established Righteousness right here where the terrain was nice and flat. I don’t suppose that they knew they were building on lava from massive seismic upheaval millennia ago. Heyerdahl has obviously spoken directly to The Light, because he told me I was an ignorant fool and set me to work scrubbing the cages.”

“Oh dear, Sebastian. I’m sorry to hear that. How long are you to be disciplined?” Traci was mulling over the implications of cracks in the dome surrounding the city, and completely missed out on the implications of Sebastian’s current task. Not so Julian, who had been listening to the conversation.

“You say you are cleaning the holding cells?” Julian sounded excited.

“That I am,” replied Sebastian, a gleeful lilt to his voice. “There aren’t many prisoners at the moment. In fact there are only two...” He paused for a moment to allow his co-conspirators to grasp where he was going with this information.

“Are you telling me that you’re in direct contact with Misha and Richard?” Julian sounded excited. “Does that mean you could deliver a Babelfish to each of them?”

“Of course.” Sebastian sounded proud. “You’ll need to get them to me somehow. Nicki, can you bring Jake with you when you head to Julian’s? I’m not allowed to leave the temple until I am suitably contrite, and you know how willful and vain I can be.”

“Please take it easy, Sebbie. Don’t enrage Heyerdahl any more than you already have.” Traci felt a chill race down her back as she formed the words. Sebastian was important, as were all of her acolytes, and she really didn’t want to lose the impish, outrageous man. “Don’t be rash.”

“Yes, mother.” Sebastian still sounded incredibly proud of himself. “Richard tells me that they will be executed as soon as Rolston can rig up a foolproof way of broadcasting to Earth. They want the trials, sentencing and executions to be a salutary lesson on what is to be expected for those who turn away from the Light. I know that Jake is on the crew that’s working on the satellite, and if you talk to him, he’s going to be the one who can best ensure that it doesn’t work. Right now they have no way of communicating with the Balance directly since Nicki and I added a little acid to the contact points and destroyed their radio.”

“Should I attend the meeting, love?” Traci directed her question at Julian, who had already sent out a call to Nicki and Jake to make their way to his hideaway.

“I’d prefer that you keep your distance, my sweet.” The regret in Julian’s voice was palpable. “Much as I long to see you, I need you to stay out of things in case the Guardians follow one of our friends here to my workshop. I want you to remain safe so that no harm befalls you. What happened to Donna was barbaric, and lately I’ve been having nightmares about the same thing happening to you. That would kill me, I think.”

At that moment, Julian heard the unmistakable sound of the airlock cycling through to admit visitors. Picking up his laser rifle he waited calmly to see who might appear. As first Nicki and then Jake burst through the hatchway, he set down his weapon again with a sigh of relief and smiled a greeting.

“Very well then, love. I guess I’ll stay here and leave you to your meeting. I need to go and meditate anyway. I have never factored in the information about damage to the dome and its possible effects. I should do that before Jensen arrives, hopefully with Jared and Ty along.” With that, she cut the connection and went to her sanctuary to begin the process of opening herself to the beyond.

~*~

 

_Balance Bob says:_

_Don’t take too much should be your creed  
Kids, please use only what you need  
_

Jake Abel was excited. The Guardian techs had been given a set of blueprints and ordered to build a satellite that would be able to carry messages to Earth. He’d brought a copy of it for Julian to pore over, and between them they were beginning to hatch a plan that would render the machine useless when it was finally launched.

“See here,” murmured Julian, tapping the spec with one bony, white finger. “If we switch these two relays -- they are similar enough that it’s unlikely to be noticed, but it would generate a huge feedback loop and burn out the chip that stores the signal. By my calculation it will be days if not weeks before they realize what has happened, and by that time we’ll have the hypergate properly tested and can yank Richard and Misha free.”

“It’s Tapping who’s working on the relays,” mused Jake. “She’s not likely to let me close to her _artistry_ , but if we can somehow change the blueprint, I’m sure I can substitute the new one. That way they’ll be building it wrong rather than us having to change it later.”

“We can but try.” Julian gathered up the spread paper and began to re-fold it. “Let’s go through to my workshop. I have an idea.”

Nicki turned to greet them as they entered the workshop. She was carefully gathering up newly replicated babelfish with a set of tweezers and delicately placing them into small, glassine envelopes, and she looked up to greet them, giving them a sunny smile as the two of them zeroed in on the drawing board. Jake grinned back at her and gave her a dorky little wave, feeling the wash of calm that Nicki always seemed to project.

“Hey, Trouble, what’re you two up to?” Her deft fingers didn’t stop their motion, but she didn’t seem to need to see what she was doing as she collected the last babelfish with her tweezers as it writhed on the stainless steel countertop. Popping it safely into its transparent envelope she folded the top down and placed it into a box with the small stack of others like it, then wandered over to see what Julian was doing. The two of them watched as he carefully projected the relevant area of the spec sheet onto his screen and steadily transposed the two areas, fraction by tiny fraction. When he finally sat back, the document looked just as it had been, save for one tiny detail. Julian gave his audience a little bow, his long face creased in a grin that lit it up in a most unexpected way. Rolling up the blueprint, he put it back into its packaging and handed it over to Jake.

“You’ll do what’s necessary then?”

“I’ll go switch them right now. No point waiting,” said Jake, grinning. “It’ll be fun to put one over on Tapping. She’s a nasty piece of work.” Raising his brows at Nicki, he shrugged. “You coming?”

“Yeah. I was just getting the fish ready to take with us. I’ll get one each to Richard and Misha. The others are for Jared, Jensen and Ty, although Ty won’t really need one once he’s here, will he?” She picked up the box and closed the lid, tucking it into the pocket of her pressure suit. “I was hoping to see Traci here. I wanted to tell her that we’re about as ready as we’ll ever be to come out of hiding. The mood of the general public is generally angry. All it will take is another atrocity like Donna’s execution, and they’ll rise up. I can sense it wherever I go.”

“I hope we won’t have anything else as barbaric as Donna’s execution,” said Julian, his face grim. “That was disgusting. I was sickened.”

“I hope so too.” Nicki reached to hug Julian and plant a kiss on his cheek. “It really won’t take much to push them into rioting though. Traci does need to know.”

“I know she went to meditate not long ago. Perhaps you should see if you can break into her trance via the fish. It’s nice to be able to give her some positive news in amongst all the bad.” The scientist patted her shoulder and winked at Jake, who had been standing beside the airlock ready to close up his pressure suit and head out whilst they had been chatting. “Now, off you go. The sooner Richard and Misha get their fish installed, the better. I need Misha’s input on the hypergate I've been constructing. It's still missing something to be able to transport large masses, and that’s crucial now to our plans.”

“Yes, sir, massa boss, sir,” she said, grinning as she turned to go to the exit, then whooping as Julian aimed a swat at her retreating backside. “Brutality! Oppression! Misogyny at its most dire! Be my witness, Jake?”

“Didn’t see a thing.” Jake had put on his helmet and was punching in the sequence to cycle the airlock. “”You should beat her more often, Julian.”

“So exhausting,” said Julian, turning back to his workbench. “I’ll build something that will take care of it for me for next time you come. See you later, guys.”

~*~

 

_Balance Bob says:_

_Hello, Kids, I’m Balance Bob  
protecting nature is my job_

The first thing that Traci heard when she finally emerged from her self-induced trance was Misha’s voice. It was evident that the babelfish had been installed in his head, and equally obvious that he hadn’t yet learned to tighten the band of his thoughts, and was broadcasting to anyone who could hear them. He was gleefully rattling off equations and little pieces of esoteric information about whatever it was that Julian was building, and Traci shook her head, making a mental note to contact Lindsey, who was the only one in the temple who could teach Misha the control he needed if he wasn’t to deafen anyone within his range.

She summoned up a stimulant and took it to her sitting room to drink it before starting her chores. Her meditation had given her a number of insights into things she was going to need to take care of if they were to be successful. First of all, she needed the successful arrival of Jensen and his party from Earth. The sooner she could get Jensen prepared for his role, the better chance they would have. She was just attempting to calculate how much longer before the party would arrive, when the door chimed softly. She went to open it and found Nicki waiting.

“Special delivery,” she said with a smile. “I brought babelfishes for the boys from Earth.”

Traci stood aside to allow her to enter the hallway and kick off her boots. “That was kind of you,” she said. “Come on in. I just came out of the meditation room, and I’m still orienting myself. Can I get you anything to drink?”

Shaking her head, Nicki followed Traci through to the main room and sat gazing out of the large window, a frown on her face. “I hope the party starts soon. When are they likely to arrive?”

“They’re well on their way,” Traci told her. “Another day or so, if what Ty was telling me is correct, and this time they won’t need to land on Deimos first. According to Ty, the ship is specially designed to slip past the scanners and straight onto Mars. I’ve already cleared my garage to make space for them.”

“It’s exciting to think that we’re getting close to the endgame.” Nicki turned to face the seeress. “I was out among the people this morning, getting a feel for popular opinion. There’s so much outrage amongst them. All it needs is for one more harsh punishment to be enacted, and there will be riots. Rolston has severely misjudged the amount of support his regime is getting.”

Traci smiled. “Ah, yes. That’s possibly because James has been reversing the effects in those conditioning booths they compel everyone to visit.”

“You mean the sanctoriums are de-programming people instead of indoctrinating them? Wow!” Nicki giggled at the idea. “Have I met James? I don’t think I know him.”

“You probably have, when you go to pray,” said Traci. “Guardian Stewart is often the person hearing the penances. He spent a long time questioning what was right before confiding to Sebastian that he was thinking of leaving the Guardians. We recruited him just after the Lone Star Colony rebelled, and now his ambition is to go back to Earth and leave Mars behind. He says he wants to become a farmer and grow things instead of destroying them.”

Nicki’s eyes were wide. “Wow! I’ve never felt even the slightest shadow of doubt from him,” she said. “He’s very good at concealing his emotions.”

“He and I have worked long and hard on that.” Traci finished her drink and set the cup aside. “Now, let’s think about ways of pushing Rolston into committing enough of an atrocity that the people will rise against him.”

“As far as that goes, I suspect that Heyerdahl will be easier to manipulate. He tends to fly into rages far easier than Rolston. All Sebbie did was tell him about the structural defect he’d noticed in the foundations on the western edge of the dome, and Heyerdahl sent him to the dungeons.”

There was a twinkle in Traci’s eye as she said, “How very fortunate for us that he received such a convenient punishment. I wonder why Heyerdahl picked precisely that way to discipline him.”

“You think it wasn’t an accident?”

“Let’s just say that Lindsey was the priestess serving Heyerdahl that day.” Traci raised a finger as her comm unit blinked. Thumbing the PAD on her wrist, she gazed at Julian’s face as he beamed at her from his workshop, a wide grin lighting up his narrow face.

“We’ve done it, love,” he said. “Misha knew exactly how to overcome the interference that gravity was causing. I’m ready to start testing it.”

“That’s wonderful, love,” she said. “Now all we have to do is fit Misha with a silencer, and we’ll be ahead of the game.”

“He is a bit loud, isn’t he?” Julian snorted as he heard her. “Richard seemed to grasp how to direct his thoughts straight away, but Misha doesn’t seem to get it at all.”

“I need to work with him a little, I think,” she said. “I assume you’re calling me on my PAD, because he’s filling the thought bands with noise.”

“Got it in one,” laughed Julian. “Plus, when I call you, I get to see you, but when I communicate with you through the fish, I have to imagine your beautiful face.”

A laugh bubbled up as she heard his words. “And you are practicing to sell red sand to the Martians, aren’t you?” She paused. “I’m so proud of you, love. How long will it take to test your new device, before we can apply it for real?”

“Just give me a couple of days to make certain that it’s safe,” said Julian. “I have to ensure that it will work with inanimate objects before I test it out on living beings. Once we’re ready, the game will change.”

“And everything we’ve worked for will come to pass.” Traci felt a shiver pass through her as she spoke the words and she knew beyond a doubt that this was the Prophecy speaking with her voice.

The moment passed, and she smiled at Julian’s image on the screen. “Til then, my love,” she whispered.

~*~

 

_Hi, children, here’s a message from Balance Bob:_

_Kids, those bunnies love to bite  
So stay inside the dome at night_  


The Impala was much more spacious and comfortable than the JTP. There were two sleeping cabins separated by a corridor that led from the cockpit to the galley area. Two more doors led from the corridor to climate and gravity controlled cargo storage, with more cargo areas overhead with the navigation equipment and below the deck with the engines, drive units and fuel. While Jensen appreciated the additional living space, right now he’d rather it was just him and Jared in the cramped JTP.

Currently Jared was in the cockpit with Ty, making sure all of the new gadgets and gizmos worked as expected. And while they weren’t excluding Jensen intentionally, he didn’t know the first thing about navigation or the complicated engineering that made the sleek ship glide through space. So Jensen was kicked back in the desk chair that had appeared from a hidden opening in the bulkhead when Jensen had stowed their bunk for the day. Well, for whatever passed for a day; without the Earth blocking the light half the time, day and night were rather abstract concepts.

Jensen was diligently making thorough notes on his personal assistive device. Not that Richard would ever have time to read them, but the events should be thoroughly documented in any event, right? He chewed the end of the stylus, still ruing the scarcity of paper that forced him to journal on his PAD. In actual fact, the stylus was an anachronism, but the others viewed it as a harmless concession to Jensen’s idiosyncrasy. Jensen was always somewhat embarrassed by the lengths everyone went to to accommodate him. But the comfort he got from writing with an object that felt like a pen far outweighed his embarrassment. Or from chewing on the end of it, as he was now.

Jensen knew that the hatch sliding into the bulkhead was completely soundless, so he shouldn’t have been startled when Jared ran his hand through his hair, asking solicitously how he was doing. That didn’t stop him from jumping out of his skin, though.

“I’m fine,” Jensen said distractedly. “Just making notes for Richard.”

“You’re not fooling anyone,” Jared insisted. “Least of all me.”

“Seriously, I’m just trying to keep myself occupied,” Jensen sighed. “I can’t let myself think about things too much or I’ll go crazy. And you and Ty were all … involved in your technobabble.”

“I’m sorry, Jen,” Jared gently pulled Jensen to the nearby bench where they could both sit, still running the strands of Jensen’s hair through his fingers. Jensen relaxed a little against his boyfriend, still chewing on the end of the stylus. “But you know the ship hasn’t been tested, and we had to make sure it could safely navigate.”

“I know that. It’s just … I couldn’t stay there and listen. It’s too hard for me to follow, and I needed something to distract myself with. Detailing all the problems I’ve been encountering seemed to fit the bill.”

“I think I know just the thing to distract you,” Jared took the stylus out of his hand, placed it on the desk next to Jensen’s PAD and starting nibbling on Jensen’s ear.

Jensen smiled and turned his head into Jared’s kiss. “Are you sure we can … I mean, what about Ty? The ship?”

“I think Ty can handle the ship for a little while, and the ship seems to be working just as we expected. I wish we’d had time to put the viewscreen in, but everything seems fine.” Jared returned Jensen’s kiss, deepening it and pressing Jensen back against the padded bench.

Kissing Jared was still a revelation to Jensen. Nothing in his life had prepared him for the maelstrom of emotion that nearly overwhelmed him each time they kissed. Jensen allowed his worries and distractions to slip away as he took control of the kiss, flipping them and pressing Jared down into the padding on the bench. It never ceased to amaze him how the big man fell apart at his touch, and he set himself to proving that once again.

Jared returned his kisses eagerly, legs falling open as he tried to pull Jensen closer in the cramped quarters. Jensen briefly considered pulling the bed down to give them more room, but didn’t want to waste any time. He reapplied himself, moving his mouth over to nip lightly with his teeth at that spot behind Jared’s ear that always drove him crazy before sliding down to suck on his collarbone. He deftly undid the buttons closing Jared’s shirt and tweaked his nipple, just enough to get the reaction he was looking for. Jared’s hips were moving slightly, and, if Jensen was reading his partner right, unconsciously rubbing his rapidly hardening cock against Jensen’s abdomen through both sets of their clothing.

“Jensen, please,” breathed Jared. It had been a while since they’d been intimate, but not _that_ long. Even with the challenges of living and working in two different cities, compounded by the increased pressure on each of them since Richard and Misha had left for Mars, they always, somehow, made time for each other. Jensen suspected that Jared was intentionally letting go easier than he usually did, most likely putting actions to his stated intention of distracting Jensen and for fear that it might be a while before they were able to spend any time alone together.

Jensen mentally shrugged off his thoughts and returned to losing himself in the feel of his lover’s hard body beneath his. As busy as they’d been the last few years, they’d still found time to learn each other’s bodies and responses, so Jensen knew just what to do to wind Jared up. He used his teeth to gnaw gently at the knob of bone he was sucking on and his thumbnail to scratch across Jared’s nipple, not quite so gently. Jared reacted predictably, hissing and arching up against him, his dick rock-hard in no time flat. Naked want twisted deep inside him, but Jensen ignored his body for the moment in favor of worshipping Jared’s. Nothing got him going faster than watching Jared lose control like this.

“Jesus, Jensen,” Jared said, desperation making his voice husky and breathless. “Stop fucking teasing.”

Jensen complied, unfastening Jared’s jeans and reaching inside as he moved his hand to worry at Jared’s other nipple, reveling in Jared's silky skin as the flesh puckered under his crafty fingers. The feel of Jared’s hot, hard cock in his hand drew his attention to his own dick, hard in his pants, but he focused on Jared, pulling his love’s erection free from his clothing and jacking it smoothly from root to tip, squeezing gently as he reached the crown. In no time, Jared was thrusting into his hand, obviously coming closer and closer to his brink. Jensen gazed at him, drinking in the sight and feel of him, relishing the moment, pushing him closer and closer to his release. Nothing was more beautiful to Jensen than Jared was at that moment.

“Jensen, man, you gotta stop.” Jared gasped. “I’m gonna come, and I wanna feel you.”

“Oh, believe me, you will feel me,” Jensen replied. The only thing he wanted more than to yank off both of their clothing and bury himself balls-deep in his lover was to watch him come apart beneath him. And besides, there might not be time … although if there was, he fully intended to follow through on his promise. He implored Jared, “Just let me have this first. Let go for me, Jared.”

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Jared shot his load all over Jensen’s hand and his own belly, pulse after pulse of warm come all over his tanned, toned abdomen. Jensen worked him through it, and they were both breathless, gasping for air and trading uncoordinated kisses, when the intercom suddenly beeped.

“Uh, guys,” Ty’s voice came over the ‘com, sounding a bit sheepish to Jensen’s ear. “We may have a problem. Jared, I think you should see this.”

Afterglow forgotten, Jared jumped up to go and find out what the problem was. Jensen stopped him, laughing as he held him steady to clean him up with a soft warm cloth he’d just gotten from the replicator, then helping him to set his clothing to rights before kissing him softly and sending him off to the cockpit.

Jensen leaned against the bulkhead as the door whooshed silently shut and breathed deeply. Once he’d regained control of his body and willed his erection to subside completely, he headed for the cockpit to find out what was the latest challenge they had to face.

~*~

 

_Balance Bob wants you to know:_

_Trash should not be on the ground  
Pick it up, don't throw it down_

Jared reached the cockpit to find the normally laid-back Ty Olsson gesturing wildly at the instruments in the cockpit, his face a picture of bafflement. Jared was used to a more hands-on style of piloting with the JTP, which other people rarely seemed able to duplicate. While Misha was learning to pilot the smaller ship, he’d claimed that Jared’s method only worked for him and had installed some sort of thought amplifier to help him communicate with the craft. Jared had no idea why others found it so difficult, as it was effortless to him.

The Impala was a different thing entirely. She didn’t respond as smoothly to Jared’s changes of the controls, and many of her instruments were new, developed by Misha and Ty specifically to pilot this craft, claiming the old ones were insufficient for determining location among the other objects in space. Having run many hundreds of simulations on the craft, he was very familiar with the new instruments. And right now, they all conflicted with one another. The whatchamacallit showed they were out past the asteroid belt, fortunately well away from Jupiter, as Jared wasn’t sure how the craft would deal with the giant’s huge gravity pull. Meanwhile, the doohickey showed them on a collision course with the planet Venus and the gismo showed them entering the sun’s corona.

Clearly all of these couldn’t be true, and likely none of them, as Jared had laid the course himself, and he was quite sure that he couldn’t have miscalculated that badly. But one thing couldn’t be denied, the proximity sensor showed them approaching a relatively large object in space. Jared had been very uncomfortable setting out without the viewscreens installed, but there had been no time. Now, he was regretting that choice. The cockpit had no viewports, having been designed to navigate based on the fancy new instruments designed specifically for it. But obviously, something had gone badly wrong.

Jared was trying to calm Ty and figure a way to determine where in space they actually were, and what the object they were approaching might be. They weren’t closing at any great speed, but if they didn’t figure out what it was, and where it was going, they would surely crash into it, which would be bad, no matter what it turned out to be. Jensen came in a few minutes after Jared and stood quietly, listening to their conversation.

“Hey, guys,” he interjected. “There is a window. I saw it from the control room back at the hangar. It was toward the top of the ship near the nose, but perhaps we can access it through some of the cargo storage areas.”

“You know, you’re right,” agreed Ty. “I remember it now too. I was usually too close to the ship running the sims to see it, but there was a viewport. Maybe Misha originally intended to put the cockpit up here, but the gravity generator couldn’t generate a consistent field up there for some reason.”

Without further ado, the three of them went to find a way to access that suddenly important viewport. There was no hatchway in the lower of the two cargo storage areas, but they finally found one in the corridor between the two staterooms. Jared removed the hatch in the overhead leading to the upper cargo hold. No convenient ladder or stairway appeared to exist. (Jared had no idea if Misha intended to add them later, or if ladders were meant to be brought in from the outside while the ship was landed. Either way, Jared considered it a serious design flaw given their current predicament. Along with the lack of a viewport in the cockpit.) Jensen and Ty managed to boost him up so he could squirm his way through the hatchway. Jared really appreciated the strength he’d gained from the strict exercise regime he’d followed for years as he pulled himself into the cargo bay. Sure enough, at the front of the empty chamber was a good-sized viewport.

He hurried forward to assess the danger they were in. The first thing he saw was a comet that was at least ten times the size of the Impala right in front of them. The next thing he saw was the planet Mars, very much closer than it should be. He double checked the chronometer on his PAD to make sure he hadn’t spent more time than he’d thought with Jensen, but it wasn’t that much later than he expected. Not nearly enough time to be over halfway to Mars.

They appeared to be situated right in the middle of the tail of the comet, which was rushing directly toward the planet Mars. Jared was sure the comet would pass Mars well behind its orbital position, but they could hitch a ride until they were relatively close. The problem was, they were approaching the body of the comet far too quickly for Jared’s comfort.

Apparently the trajectory he’d programmed in was driving right into the center of the comet’s mass. The tiny bit of gravity the comet should be generating couldn’t possibly be affecting their path, so it must be something else. Perhaps a magnetic field, or some super-dense material in the comet increasing its gravitational pull. Whatever it was had likely sent their instruments spiraling as well. Apparently Misha hadn’t accounted for random space debris with super-dense cores. Whatever the case, reprogramming the sensors was not the most important thing here. They needed to stop their progress toward the comet, before it was too late.

After a brief discussion on the best way to go about fixing the situation, Jared called course changes down to Ty, who navigated blind, just based on Jared’s called corrections. That was tedious and exhausting for Jared, who kept having to run to the hatch to call course changes, then run back to the window to see what effect they had. Rinse and repeat, until he was half-dead. Eventually he just had Ty cut the autopilot and virtually collapsed next to the viewport.

Suddenly, everything was easy again. He saw the course correction needed, and the ship went there. It was almost like piloting the JTP again. If the JTP had an ass as fat as a warehouse that was. Maneuverability was not this ship’s strong suit, but Jared soon adapted and had them safely tucked into the tail of the comet, well back from most of the debris, but hopefully invisible to anyone on Mars who happened to be scanning this portion of the sky.

Jared fell asleep by the viewport, exhausted but comforted by the knowledge that he could safely rest for a while and let the Impala cruise in the comet’s wake. He woke hours later to find Jensen tucked up beside him. He kissed the back of Jensen’s head, and Jensen stirred, turning in Jared’s arms so he could kiss him back.

“This is nice,” Jensen murmured. “Almost like the old days, when it was just us and the JTP.”

“Mmm,” Jared answered. “It is. Hey, wait a minute! Tell me you’re not jealous of Ty.”

“Of course not!” Jensen denied. Jared raised an eyebrow and Jensen went on. “Okay … Maybe a little.”

“Oh, babe. You know you have nothing to worry about.”

“It’s not like that.” Jensen reassured him. “I trust you implicitly. It’s just … I kind of miss the times when we could just take off for a couple of weeks alone while we traveled to Mars. Was our time to reconnect.”

“It was nice,” Jared agreed. “I wish we still had that luxury. But there’s not enough of us and we’ve chosen paths that make that difficult. You have your red tape to cut, and I have supplies to transport. Maybe someday we can pass our jobs on to someone else and they’ll retire the JTP and we can take off across the solar system, seeing all the wonders we’ve never had time to look for.”

“Hey Jared?” Jensen asked sleepily. “How come you can pilot from up here? Ty is all sorts of confused, but he’s trying to recalibrate the sensors to account for the interference of the comet and let you sleep.”

“I don’t know,” Jared answered. “It was like once the autopilot cut out, the Impala just did what I thought she should. I had to think it a little differently, because she’s a lot bigger than the JTP, but once I figured it out it was easy. Does that make sense?”

“Not really,” Jensen shrugged. “But I’m sure Misha and Ty will be happy to dissect it once you guys have ironed out the wrinkles. And they’re sure to be insanely jealous of your ability.”

Jensen kissed him on the nose and snuggled closer, closing his eyes again, clearly settling in for another nap. Jared checked to make sure they were still safely in the comet’s tail and still on a good trajectory toward Mars, then pulled Jensen more securely into his arms and slept again.

~*~

 

_Another message from Balance Bob:_

_Pollution makes no contribution to the way we live.  
Earth and sky and water all deserve more than we give_

Ty could feel the course corrections, but he wasn’t changing any of the controls. “What the hell?” he asked himself.

“What’s wrong?” Jensen asked.

“I turned off the autopilot, but the ship is still changing course,” Ty answered, perplexed. “It’s like it suddenly has a mind of its own.”

“Or Jared’s doing it,” Jensen suggested.

“What do you mean, Jared’s doing it?” Ty was astounded. No way was Jared able to pilot this ship from up there. “He’s up there in an empty cargo hold. There’s no controls up there! How could he possibly be piloting the ship?”

“You went with him in the JTP a few times. You saw how he flew the ship.”

“But this ship is nothing like the JTP!” Ty insisted. “The navigation is completely different. The JTP was scrounged from scrap heaps leftover from Before. Misha, Jared and I built the Impala from the ground up, with tech that we fully understand.”

“I’m not sure any of that matters,” Jensen answered. “You say the ship is changing course. You’re not doing it, and I’m not doing it, so Jared must be. I need to check on him and my exercise regimen doesn’t include an absurd number of chin-ups every day. Can you help me figure out how to get up there?”

Ty couldn’t believe how calm Jensen was about the whole thing. Here they were, traveling through space trailing some huge comet, without any known way of changing course. And yes, he’d traveled to Mars with Jared in the JTP before, but that was a tested and proven craft. So what if it only responded as expected with Jared on board. That didn’t mean he should trust some unproven spaceship when all the controls they’d painstakingly designed had failed to work! And yes, he could admit he was panicking a little bit, but nobody could claim he didn’t have cause.

Jensen was opening the hatches to the various cargo compartments, looking for who knew what. They hadn’t had time to install lights in all of the cargo spaces, but Jensen had produced a flashlight and was looking through all of the empty holds. Ty just watched him, still trying to control his panic over flying through space in an apparently unpiloted craft.

“There’s something,” Jensen called from the far corner of the aft cargo hold. “Ty, can you help me move these to the corridor?”

Jensen’s find was a few crates of varying sizes that they had used to protect the instruments that had been made off site during transport to the hangar where they were building and testing the Impala. Between the two of them they pushed, pulled and carried the various boxes, until Jensen had constructed a workable staircase of sorts in the corridor to reach the hatchway to the upper cargo bay. He disappeared up the steps before returning a few minutes later.

“He’s sleeping,” Jensen said. “All that running back and forth to call the directions to you must have exhausted him. I’m sure whatever he did to pilot the ship after that didn’t help. I think we should let him sleep a while.”

That made sense. Ty could try to control his apprehension while Jared got some rest. He retrieved a blanket and a couple of pillows from the replicator in his cabin and gave them to Jensen. “At least stay with him. And look out the viewport every once in a while and make sure we’re still heading in the general direction of Mars. I’d hate for the two of you to wake up and find us actually in the asteroid belt or something.”

~*~

By the time Jared and Jensen came back down the makeshift steps, Ty had recalibrated all of the instruments but the gismo. It still showed them heading directly into the sun, and while Ty found that disconcerting, his other senses reassured him that their craft was not, in fact, melting, so therefore the reading had to be wrong. The other instruments all showed that they were approaching the point in Mars’s orbit where Mars would be in another six hours or so. Ty had been contemplating climbing the makeshift pile of boxes to wake the boys, as it was getting to be time for Jared to change their course, and he was just getting up to go and do so when Jared and Jensen re-entered the cockpit.

“Hi,” Jared said, somewhat sheepishly. “Sorry to pass out on you like that. It just seems to take more energy to pilot the Impala than it did the JTP. And I didn’t even know you guys had put the interface in for me to do that.”

“We didn’t…” Ty answered. “Frankly, we’ve never understood how you pilot the JTP, so we couldn’t have put it in if we’d wanted to and had the time. We just never wanted to shake your confidence, and it always seemed like later would be a better time to talk about that.”

“Right then,” Jared returned. “Let’s hope it doesn’t shake my confidence. Because we’ve got to get out from behind this comet and on our way to Mars under our own speed. We’re approaching the threshold where the speed and fuel savings of piggybacking on the comet will be outweighed by the amount of fuel it will take to get back to Mars orbit from the inertial position. I just wanted to check a couple of readings from the sensors to confirm my eyeball measurements. Did you manage to get the whatchamacallit calibrated?”

“I did,” Ty answered. “I just couldn’t get the gismo to work. It shows us just inside the surface of the sun, heading further in.”

“Well, fortunately, I think we can rule out that reading.” Jared snickered at Ty’s words. “Okay, let me just check the mass of the comet, and confirm the distance to Mars and its projected orbit.” Jared puttered about the cabin, checking on various instruments and nodded, obviously pleased. “Looks good. I think I can get us out of here without too much trouble. I actually think it would be easier to do from the cargo hold rather than trying to do it from here. The nav controls rely too much on autopilot, and I think I’d need the reading from the gismo to even attempt to reprogram it anyway. What do you think, Ty?”

“I agree. I’ve been bouncing between trying to actually re-calibrate the damned gismo and trying to calculate the autopilot variables without the reading. Wasn’t going too well with either venture, so I’m glad you have another solution.”

“What about the stealth system?” Jared asked. “Is it operational? Because as soon as we leave the tail of the comet, we’ll be visible to whoever happens to be looking in our direction. And the closer we get to Mars, the more likely that is.”

“Yeah, I know,” Ty sighed. I’ve been trying to run sims on it, but the sims rely too much on the gismo readings, and with them being faulty … only way to know for sure is to try it. And I’m not sure we have much choice anyway. I think your window is closing, and we don’t have the facilities or the parts to attempt any repairs, even if we could get a decent test sim.”

“All right then. It’ll have to be good enough. Jensen?” Jared looked around. “Ty, did you see Jensen leave?”

“No. He was right here and then we were talking navigation and… He can’t have gone too far; it’s not that big of a ship and it’s mostly empty.”

“I’m here,” Jensen called from the hatchway. “You guys were busy talking shop, so I thought I’d move the restraint systems from our cabin to the observation deck.”

“The observation deck?” Jared asked, obviously puzzled.

“Yeah, the room with the window?” Jensen teased. “What else would you call it?”

Jensen constantly amazed Ty. Even back when he’d been Eric Brady, blindfolded sheep who believed everything the Fellowship fed him, he’d shown remarkable wit, resilience and strength of character. Ty had been proud to be someone he called friend. And when anyone else would’ve resented the amount of time Jared spent on his work, leaving very little personal time, Jensen had found useful projects to keep himself occupied. Not that Ty believed that running the colony, or even the work Jensen was doing behind the scenes before Richard had left for Mars, was make work. Far from it, in fact. But he was sure that they’d both choose work that allowed them more time together as a couple if the colony didn’t need them both so badly. Ty admired both men for the sacrifices they made for the greater good.

But Jensen, Jensen was amazing. Take now, for instance. When anyone else might’ve been jealous that his partner was so engrossed that he didn’t even notice him leaving the room, Jensen had found something that needed doing that neither of them would’ve thought of until it was time to land. And if the way things had been going were any indication, Ty would feel much better if the crash chairs were installed in the “observation deck” when that time finally arrived. Hopefully the “crash” features wouldn’t be needed, but Ty wasn’t ruling anything out.

Ty had always hoped that once Jensen regained his memories, once he remembered what the pink tattoo meant, that he might have a chance with him. But then Jared had been there, and Ty had never stood a chance. Not that Ty wished it had turned out any differently. Together, Jensen and Jared were exactly what the resistance, the _colony_ needed. Sometimes it was hard to remember that they were the legitimate government now. And that never would have happened, especially not so quickly, without Jensen and Jared working together as a team. And speaking of teamwork, they would all need to be working as a team to get them landed safely on Mars.

“The observation deck, of course! What else would we call it?” Jared wound an arm around Jensen’s neck, gave him a quick peck on the lips and the two climbed back up the makeshift steps. Jared called back, “Ty, can you keep an eye on the instruments and a hand on the thruster control? We might have to do some quick maneuvering if the stealth doesn’t work.”

Ty wanted to follow them up the makeshift steps so he could actually see the approach to Mars, but forced himself to follow their progress on the instruments that actually worked. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t the best idea not to include a simple viewport from the cockpit, but hindsight didn’t change the fact that they hadn’t. It wasn’t long before the sensors recorded the Impala moving out of the comet’s wake and more directly toward Mars’ orbit. All seemed well until he felt the craft jerk to the starboard milliseconds before the instruments noted the course change. And another reason why a viewport would’ve been a good plan.

“Ty,” Jensen called urgently from the top of the steps. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes,” Ty called back as he felt the craft shift back to port.

“Good!” Jensen said from the top of the pile of crates. “Jared says he can’t keep this up and wants me to call course corrections down to you.”

“Okay,” Ty agreed, grateful for something to do, and manned the controls as Jensen relayed the instructions from Jared, who was the only one of the three of them who could actually see whatever it was they were dodging. It started out well, but the closer they got to Mars, the less lead time they had, and relaying the corrections took too long. Occasionally Jared would help the thrusters move the ship, but eventually he tired, and the lead time continued to decrease. Inevitably, they were hit by one of the missiles, and it took out the gismo completely before their instruments could even register anything was coming. If they made it out of this alive, Ty was going to make sure a viewport was put in before the Impala ever flew again.

They continued the dance, with Ty having even less idea of what was actually going on outside the craft until, finally, they were close enough to the planet for Jared to ease them into a gradually degrading orbit before passing out cold. Without any way of navigating, Ty shut down the engines and prayed that they would not be hit by any further missiles. But, apparently whoever was shooting at them couldn’t target if the engines weren’t running, and the missiles stopped coming.

Jensen called Ty up to help strap Jared in to one of the crash chairs that it was now obvious they were actually going to need. Once Jared was safely restrained, Jensen asked Ty if he thought there was time before they crashed to bring up a third chair for him. Fortunately, Jared had managed to find a such a gradual trajectory that the two of them were able to bring up a third chair long before they even came close to Deimos’s orbit.

As the ship approached Mars, Ty was most grateful to Jensen for thinking of him, for not leaving him to wait out the long slow descent to the planet down in the cockpit where he couldn’t see anything. Ty manned the thrusters until they cleared the moons and then went up to join the other two, strapped in and watched the bizarrely slow descent toward the inevitable crash unfold.

~*~

 

_Balance Bob has another message:_

_We’re trying to rebuild our land  
and make it more than toxic sand_

The noise was indescribable as the Impala skimmed and skipped across the sandy Martian terrain. Jensen could hear clanging and crashing as loose items in the cabins that they hadn’t had time to stow were tossed around, and more from outside, where the rough ground was no doubt making its mark on the superstructure. Jensen held his breath and mumbled a prayer, although who that was directed to he had no idea.

The momentum of their forward movement flung him hard against the straps that held him in his seat, and he found himself grateful for the one that held his head in place, knowing that his neck would have snapped before now if it wasn’t for that piece of the safety harness.

He couldn’t see either Jared or Ty, and while he had every confidence in Jared to get them down safely, he was afraid that the hull would be torn open by some random rock and they would die before they ever got to save his mom. The shaking and crashing seemed never ending, and it came as a shock when at last the little ship gave a final ear-splitting grating sound and came to a stop.

There was silence. None of the instruments were making their usual noises, and he couldn’t hear Jared or Ty either, in fact he didn’t even know if they were still breathing.

“Jared?” His voice sounded muffled and odd to him, but he called out again anyway. “Ty? Jared? Are you okay?”

Something moved at his side, and a second later he saw Jared appear, reach out to set him loose from the tangle of safety webbing that held him so firmly. Jared’s lips were moving, but Jensen couldn’t hear a thing.

Stumbling out of his safety net, Jensen reached to cup Jared’s face, turning it toward him so he could check for injury. “Are you okay?” he asked again. He could see Ty, groggily climbing free of his own restraints, and his lips were moving also, but there was still no sound. “I think I’m gonna need a healer,” he said. “I’m deaf.”

Jared nodded. He raised his wrist and spoke into his PAD, and as the words appeared on the screen he held it up for Jensen.

_We have to get out of here. They’ll be coming for us, and if we’re still in the ship they’ll take us in. That would be bad._

Nodding, Jensen looked around for the helmet to his pressure suit. He could see that Ty was putting one on, and he suddenly recalled that his was in the cabin. Turning to go and find it, he was crossing behind Ty, when the man suddenly vanished. Seconds later he felt a weird shudder go through him, and there was a faint pop. His head swam, and he was about to yell for help when he realized that he was no longer on the observation deck of the Impala, or indeed anywhere he’d ever been before. Not only that but he was facing a man he had never laid eyes on in his life, a man whose appearance was so strikingly different that it reminded him of stories he’d heard when he was a child - of the thin man who would appear before you when you were about to die.

“Am I about to die?” he asked, and the gaunt creature in front of him smiled, his face crinkling in good humor as he answered. Jared seemed to have arrived where ever this was as well, and he stepped forward, speaking earnestly to the other, apparently telling him that Jensen couldn’t hear. He turned back to Jensen a moment later.

“This is Master Julian,” he told Jensen, via his PAD. Julian was busily rummaging through a little box on the counter of what appeared to be a well-equipped work station and turned with an envelope, which he held out to Jared. Jared nodded and tipped the contents into his mouth, then received another which he held out to Jensen. “Here. This will apparently solve some of the problems for us. Don’t touch it, put it straight in your mouth and press it up against your palate. It will do the rest.”

Peering into the envelope, Jensen wasn’t quite sure what to do with the small scrap of what appeared to be metal - if metal were liquid. Finally, he shrugged and did as Jared had said. There was a brief burning sensation and then suddenly he could hear - or maybe not hear. Jared was cursing softly, and the man, Julian, was asking him if he was all right now.

Nodding, Jensen frowned. The man’s lips hadn’t moved, and Jared’s weren’t either. “What...?”

“The fish should enable you to hear our thoughts. With it you can communicate with anyone who has a fish installed, even though they aren’t actually here.” Julian smiled his toothy grin again, and Jensen goggled at him. Julian’s face was that of an aesthete - he resembled one of the holy ones who had withdrawn from all of life’s pleasures in order to contemplate the light back in the days of the Lone Star, but that smile transformed him, made him look like a mischievous schoolboy plotting something especially wicked. Jensen frowned as Julian’s words suddenly caught up with him.

“Fish?” he asked. “I just ate a telepathic fish?”

“Not exactly.” Julian was laughing now. “That was what Nicki called the things - she said they were Babelfish, like the ones in a book she’d read. The name just stuck, but they are genetically engineered biochips designed to hook into your corpus callosum and enable latent telepaths to become active. So far, nobody on the team has proven to lack the latency.”

Ty was sitting in a corner looking very pale, and, as Julian was speaking, he pitched forward, collapsing onto the floor, apparently unconscious.

“Oh dear,” Julian frowned. “Lindsey, darling, are you able to come help me? Bring your kit; we have a couple of casualties.”

“Wait a minute,” Jared’s thought was loud, but he was speaking too, if the movements his face was making said anything. He’d dropped down to his knees to check Ty out, and he looked rather worried. “How did we get here? Where _is_ here anyway? And who is Lindsey?”

“Lindsey is a healer, and a very good one,” Julian told Jared. “She will be here momentarily, because I am about to use my hypergate to fetch her. Ty looks as though he needs urgent assistance.” He had turned to a machine in the corner and was manipulating touch pads as he spoke, and when he pressed a small lever, there was a sudden puff of air against Jensen’s skin, and a very pretty dark haired girl materialized. “She’ll get Ty sorted out and then look at your ears.”

Jensen felt as though he was missing several key concepts. He frowned. “Hypergate?” he asked.

“That’s what I call it,” said Julian. “It’s a matter transmitter, and it’s going to prove very useful, because I am about to use it to liberate Richard and Misha from their captivity. You, Jared and Ty were in fact the very first live bodies to be transported via my hypergate, and I am really glad that it worked. The Guardians would have taken you in a matter of only a few moments more.”

The thought that he’d just been dematerialized and moved bodily by a completely untested device made Jensen feel quite faint. He opened his mouth to say something about that and then on second thought closed it again. He was here, Jared was here, and as far as he could tell, everything was still where it ought to be. He hadn’t lost any limbs in transit. He shrugged; it was what it was.

“Uh, thanks,” he said, finally.

Lindsey had deftly uncovered Ty’s chest, revealing a set of huge, purple bruises that were the outward signs of ribs that were either severely bruised or cracked. She’d administered painkillers and set a small device going that she’d placed on his chest, and which was now radiating a light which fluctuated between blue and lilac in steady pulses. “He’ll be all right shortly. The beam will start the bones knitting together, and nothing has actually pierced his lung. He’ll be sore for a few days though,” she said. Turning to Jensen, she gave him a smile that made him shiver. “Now it’s your turn, handsome. What can I call you, while I’m taking liberties with your person?”

“Uh...” he said, rather less than brilliantly as he gazed at her. If he wasn’t already in love with Jared, this girl might have...

“His name is Jensen, and he’s taken.” Jared had stepped up to slip his arm around Jensen’s waist, and it seemed to Jensen that his lover might be just a teeny bit jealous. He smirked up at Jared.

“She’s not going below my waist, I promise,” he said with a grin.

Lindsey’s eyes had widened when she realized just who her patient was, but she laughed when she heard Jensen. “It’s okay. I’m taken too,” she said to Jared. “I’ll introduce you to Katharine later, but first I need to fix your boy up. He’s concussed, I can tell, and Julian tells me that he can’t hear.” She gestured to Jensen. “Sit down and let me take a look.”

~*~

Jensen had fallen asleep despite attempts to remain alert while Lindsey did her thing, and when he awoke - who knew how much later? - he could hear distant voices, although there was still a ringing in his ears that made making sense of them a problem.

He’d been moved, he could tell that, and was currently lying on a pallet on the floor next to a similar one which contained Ty, who was looking far less pale although he was still out for the count. The thing on his chest was radiating more blue light than purple now, and was giving off little buzzing sounds as it worked its magic.

Rolling over, he sat up and then decided that he wouldn’t fall apart if he got out of bed, so he did, observing with some satisfaction that he was able to stand up without his head feeling like it was being pounded on by a sledgehammer. Back in the workshop, he found Julian and Jared with their heads together, poring over a set of technical drawings which were spread out over the worktop. Lindsey seemed to have gone back to wherever she had come from, and Jensen felt a faint pang as he looked around and noticed she was gone.

Jared was the one who noticed him first, and he was over to his side in an instant. “Hey, baby, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” The high pitched squeal in his ears was annoying, but it wasn’t stopping him from hearing Jared speak. “What are we going to do now that the ship is a wreck?”

“That’s what Julian and I were just planning. “We’re going to move her over to Traci’s garage so we’ve got a space to fix her up in.”

“Ummm... newsflash, Jay. The ship was trashed when we hit Mars at a gazillion miles an hour. How are you going to get her to Traci’s garage up there in the clouds?” Jensen was hungry and thirsty and still somewhat shocked, which made him grumpy. “And what about us? We’re stuck here.”

“We’ll use the hypergate, silly.” Jared was grinning. “We were just planning the logistics of getting Impala there. Once she’s in place, we’re a piece of cake. Julian can put us down on a dime if Traci wants to put one on the floor.”

“Hey, that’s...” Jensen had a sudden idea. He smiled at Jared and turned to where Julian was rolling up the drawings to insert them in their sleeve. “Can you use your hypergate thingy to pull my mom free? I don’t like the idea of her stuck in that temple.”

Julian froze. The expression on his face spoke of an urgent need to escape the question, but Jensen was right there, standing before him. He swallowed; Jensen could see the muscles playing in the slender throat, and he shook his head, suddenly aware that there was bad news but hoping against hope that it wasn’t too awful.

“Jensen, I’m sorry.” And those words, right there, told him that it was going to be the worst news he could possibly imagine. Julian was looking at him with mournful eyes. “Your mother... she died.”

“Died?” The word rattled in Jensen’s head, somehow echoing and reverberating until it no longer made sense. “People don’t just _die._ What happened?”

“She...” It was evident that Julian really didn’t want to be the one to break the news to him. “They executed her for treason. It was before we got the hypergate working, and it was done so quickly that we couldn’t get to her in time. I’m so sorry.”

For a moment, Jensen stood motionless, processing the idea that the mother he’d come to rescue had already been taken from him. Then his face crumpled in fury, and he sent out a psychic scream of rage that caused both Julian and Jared to turn pale and clutch at their heads in agony.

Protests came from the others who had babelfishes. Sebastian, pulled from sleep, bellowed, “What the fuck?” and even Ty, who had been unconscious a few moments ago, muttered a few choice obscenities. Traci’s clear thought cut through the cries of anguish, soothing wordlessly. “Jensen...”

“I’ll kill them with my own hands.” Jensen was yelling, but his mind was sending out the message too, loud and clear.

“That’s the spirit.” Richard’s comment made him jump. “Not a good idea to tell them though. They’ll be ready for you if you announce it to all, and it’ll make it so much messier. Best to sneak up on them while you can take them unawares.”

“I... you... what?” Jensen lifted his head. “Richard?” He turned to Julian. “Where’s Richard? Where’s Misha?”

“I’m afraid we’re guests of Supreme leaders Rolston and Heyerdahl at the moment.” Misha sounded amused. “Have a drink for me.”

“Why are they there?” Jensen was pacing now. “Can’t you bring them here? Get them out of there.”

“Might be a good idea.” Nicki chimed in. “They’re discussing how to televise an execution right now. Apparently they think it would be dangerous to wait, because you guys have just arrived and upset the status quo by sneaking in past their defenses.”

“In which case, by all means, let’s check out of this fleabag motel.” Richard still sounded faintly amused, but there was a detectable undercurrent of fear there too.

“Do it, Julian,” said Traci. “We can’t afford to wait any longer. I’m going to go down and make myself sufficiently annoying that they will be forced to discipline me, and you others can start rousing the people. Nicki feels that it will only take one more oppressive action from the Guardians to set a real protest going. I think getting them to oppress me is the best way to get things started.”

“Vive la revolution!” That was Sebastian. “Old man, would you mind awfully springing me at the same time as our two prisoners? I’m awfully tired of scrubbing floors and cleaning toilets.”

Julian had been silent since Traci had made her announcement, but now he turned and made a few adjustments to the machine in the corner. There was a rushing sound and suddenly Misha appeared, followed by Richard and then Sebastian.

Richard and Misha were not in great condition. It smelled as if neither of them had been able to bathe for some time. They were both bearded and covered in cuts and bruises, a silent testimony to the abuse they had suffered during questioning. Misha had the tell-tale burn marks on his forehead that denoted a mind probe, and as he appeared, he sank to his knees looking pale.

“They just brought him back to the cell,” said Richard, bending to help Misha up. “I think it was going to be my turn next. They’re looking for ways to re-take control of Lone Star.”

“Good luck with that,” said Jared, looking grim. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before that happens.”

“Gentlemen, with your permission...” That was Julian. “My humble workshop is just not big enough to host so many, and both Richard and Misha need to wash off the residue of captivity. With your permission I would like to send you to Traci’s home. She has the space for you, and Lindsey will be able to take care of your injuries.”

~*~

 

_Balance Bob would like you to know:_

_Our people once destroyed the Earth  
We all must work for its re-birth_

Traci was angry with Julian.

She knew why he had sent everyone to her home, and it wasn’t because he didn’t have the space there. She’d announced her intention of going to the temple to cause trouble, and he was trying to stop her. And of course, he had not arrived with the rest of the crowd, so she was unable to do anything other than greet her guests and settle them in, when she had really just wanted to get things over with.

Ty needed help to get to bed, and Lindsey had arrived with Katharine, and was busily tending to him, while Richard and Misha took turns in her shower and Jensen and Jared waited for their turn.

Sebastian, who mercifully didn’t seem to feel the need to use her bathroom facilities, had begun to quiz her about her intentions, and when she explained that she would confront Rolston about the planned executions, he shook his head.

“No, no. Absolutely not.” He took a seat beside her. “Dear lady, your intent should be to have him angry at you rather than homicidal.” He grinned. “Why don’t you do what I did and tell him about the cracks that are appearing in the foundations of the dome where the plasteel is deteriorating. That ought to make him a little bit miffed. I bet he has a reaction that will serve your purpose; he never did like hearing things that went against what he wanted.”

Thinking about it, Traci realized that he had a point. The idea was not to be slaughtered out of hand, but rather to be publicly disciplined. She knew that the people of Righteousness saw her as a kind of figurehead, and she trusted that any overt aggression towards her would be enough, given the mood of the populace, to spur rioting. Jensen, who had been quietly listening to Sebastian’s suggestions, nodded his head.

“That seems like a really good idea. The only thing that worries me is that we don’t have any way of seeing what goes down when Traci does her thing. Seems to me that if we had someone monitoring the scene and relaying it to Julian, he could yank her away with his hypergate thingy and get her out of danger if he deemed it necessary.”

Traci nodded and sent a thought winging its way to Nicki. “When are you likely to be the attending priestess again?”

“Whenever you like.” Nicki’s thought was amused. “It’s not a popular duty. Anyone would be pleased to trade for something less unpredictable. Lately, Heyerdahl has been losing his temper all too frequently, and Rolston just smiles and watches when he’s hurting people.” She paused. “The next duty is Adrianne’s and she’s due to take over from Elaina in another hour and a half. “I’ll go see her and find out if she’d like to trade.”

Nodding to herself, Traci squared her shoulders, and would have risen to her feet, but Jensen put out a hand to stop her. “You know, if we could arrange for your apprehension to be in public, not only would that have greater impact, but I could maybe send out a broadcast to tell the people what was happening. If you’re going to do this, we need to make it count.”

“That would work.” Sebastian leaned forward, glee in his eyes as he considered ways to ensure that maximum nuisance value was achieved. “We know that Rolston won’t back down, because he never does, but the people would be completely aware of what was happening, and he wouldn’t be able to play it off and pretend that she’d just disappeared on one of her retreats or something.”

Misha wandered into the room at that moment toweling his hair dry. He was freshly bathed and shaved, and a cut across his cheekbone had been neatly closed with butterfly stitches. “It sounds as if the fight is about to begin,” he said. “In which case I will do battle, although I am as a little child without the sword of my ancestors.”

“Not quite yet, Misha.” Jared had been leaning against the wall by the window, listening to the conversation, but now he moved forward and took a seat next to Jensen, and Jensen instantly reached for his hand, squeezing it as if drawing Jared’s strength through the touch. “I think that you and I need to bend our minds to taking over the broadcasting system. If we can do that, we can override their propaganda without too much difficulty and cut into their programming to deliver news even if the Guardians try to pull the plug.” He beamed a thought to Julian. “Any ideas, maestro?”

“The improbable we can do instantly,” smirked Julian. “The impossible will take a little longer. Why don’t you come down to the workshop, and we’ll see what we can achieve.”

“I believe that you will need me too, old man,” Sebastian was up and pacing again, his ability to sit still never great, and now apparently exhausted. “You’re going to need me to get whatever you create into position inside the temple.”

Relaxing, Traci closed her eyes for a moment, summoning up a mandala she could focus on that would prepare her for what was to come. She doubted that she would survive this ordeal, and was prepared for that. Her one regret was that Julian would be left behind to mourn her, and although she knew that they would meet again somewhere in another life she regretted that she was not going to share any of this one with him.

Once she had centered herself, she opened her eyes again and looked around. Misha, Jared and Sebastian had gone, and she knew that they would be down in Julian’s domain below the Martian sands, working on a way to turn their plans into reality. Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes, and she jumped a little when she felt an arm go around her. She had forgotten Jensen’s presence, but now she looked up to find him searching her face with concern stamped all over his features.

“Don’t crumble now,” she told herself. He heard the thought and squeezed her shoulders.

“You have as much to lose as any of us,” he said. “Maybe more. You’ve been denying yourself and Julian the chance to be together for a long time. I couldn’t have done any of this if I didn’t have Jared by my side.”

“You are stronger than you think,” murmured Traci, although her eyes stung with the tears she refused to shed. “And Julian and I will find each other, always.”

Richard emerged from his shower, and the moment was gone. Their talk was inconsequential after that, until at last it was time, and Traci opened the door that led her into the garage.

~*~

 

_Hi, kids, Balance Bob says:_

_Respect the earth, respect the soil,  
she will reward you as you toil _

True to his word, Julian had relocated the Impala into the large hanger, and it was now taking up most of the space, Her fuselage showed dents and scratches, but her harsh landing had gone surprisingly well, and there were no deep gashes in the superstructure that Jensen could see as he followed Traci through the doorway. He wondered if the craft would ever make the return to Earth or if she would remain here forever, a useless reminder of a time when everything had seemed so simple.

Traci’s runabout was outside, on the ledge above the city, and she went to it deliberately, turned to smile and wave at Jensen, and then was gone, the little craft arrowing down towards the temple.

Turning, Jensen closed the doors behind him and went back to where Richard was turning the vidscreen on in preparation as he listened to Misha’s instructions. “They’ve got an ally named Sterling down in the city and he’s got a camera trained on the temple. They’ll broadcast it to every screen in the city,” he said, excited.

“Oh, Light,” muttered Jensen. “I hope that they don’t kill her.”

Apprehensively, they watched Traci’s approach. Someone must have been monitoring the broadcast and noted the change from the prayers and exhortations to follow the Light, to the new feed, because even before Traci arrived on the rooftop landing space, Heyerdahl was there, face black as thunder. Behind him rushed Rolston and with him was Nicki.

“Showtime,” she sent to them. Then Traci landed and stepped down onto the pale marble of the temple.

A voice - Jensen recognized Jared’s voice with a sick thrill of excitement - was heard coming through the broadcast. “People of Righteousness,” it said. “The great Seer has news to impart to the Divine Guide Towards the Light and his top lieutenant.”

Rolston, intent on finding out what Traci had come to tell them, was focused only on her, but Heyerdahl was peering around, trying to see who was training a camera on them. He snapped an order to Nicki, who ran to try and turn off the large screen behind them which was broadcasting the events as they unfolded. Of course, it didn’t work, and as she turned to say as much to Heyerdahl he sideswiped her, knocking her to the ground, and began to make the attempt himself, punching and kicking at the screen when his efforts to use the controls didn’t pan out. Behind him, Traci was making her curtsey to Rolston. “I have been communing with the Light,” she announced. “And I bear a message of grave importance.” Her words were repeated from the screen, and below, the apparent echo revealed that people were watching on their PADs.

As he realized that every word spoken was being heard and repeated, Heyerdahl appeared to lose his mind completely. Nicki had very wisely remained down on the ground after being thrown there, so he made for Traci, apparently intending to harm her.

Rolston flung out an arm as he was passing, and uttered a curt, “Stop!”

He paused, although from the expression on his face he was far from ready to let things go.

Traci was speaking again, and Jared’s voice, which had calmly related everything that had happened so far, began to relay her words.

“I have seen destruction coming,” said Traci. “Righteousness is crumbling, and it is only a matter of time before the city will fall and be lost forever.”

“What are you talking about?” Rolston laughed. “We have been here for hundreds of years.”

Whatever Traci was about to say next, it never escaped her lips. As Richard and Jensen watched, aghast, Heyerdahl roared out a protest and sprang forward, grabbing hold of her and shaking her like a rat. “So you’ve seen, have you? Well, you will never see again!” He grabbed his discipline stick from where it hung at his belt and pressed it to her eyes, and then threw her down onto the marble, where she lay as if stunned.

Rolston had stood by, mute, but now he laughed. “Really, my dear Christopher, couldn’t you have waited to do that until we were no longer in the public eye?”

Traci and Nicki were still sprawled on the ground as the two leaders retreated into the body of the temple. Once they were gone and the door was closed, Nicki scrambled over to where Traci lay. It was evident that she was seriously hurt. Flowers of blood bloomed where her eyes had been, and she was mercifully unconscious.

“She’s still alive, but she needs help,” she sent, and gasped as the sounds of screaming and shouting floated up to her from down in the square at the base of the temple. The broadcast suddenly ended, and seconds later, she and Traci were transported back to Traci’s where Lindsey and Katharine were waiting to do what they could to help the injured woman.

They filled Traci with painkillers, and Lindsey staunched the bleeding. She was still unconscious when Katharine scanned her to determine the extent of the damage, and Lindsey had elected to keep her under sedation while she healed, pending a proper clinical appraisal of the injuries. When Katharine finally finished her scan, she shook her head. The news was not good.

“The optic nerves are still intact, but her eyes are completely destroyed.” Katharine said finally. “Without some kind of prosthesis, she will never see again.”

~*~

Fighting in the city had begun only moments after the broadcast, and now, several hours later, it had grown exponentially as the people of Righteousness finally reached their limits. At first, the Guardians had tried to wield discipline sticks and quell the rioting population, but by evening curfew it was evident that they had completely lost control. The riot was in full swing and most of the Guardians had retreated to the temple, barred the doors and were attempting to wait it out. The ones who hadn’t made it were, for the most part, either lying dead or tied up, captives until such time someone decided to put an end to them.

Ty had finally been pronounced fit to get up, and was now busily attempting to repair the instrumentation on the Impala while directing others to cut a hole in the hull and install a viewport in the cockpit. Richard and Jared had returned to Julian’s workshop, and now Jensen was preparing to make a speech to the people of Righteousness. He had been joined by Jake and Sterling, and a couple of faces that were new to Jensen, including a slight man with a devilish grin, whose name was Rob. He was dressed in Guardian’s uniform, which he confided to Jensen he’d stolen from a Guardian he’d garroted earlier that day, and a forthright lady named Kim, who was conducting an inventory of the available weaponry. Once Jensen had made his speech, they would be storming the temple and attempting to put an end to the regime that had permitted so many atrocities in the name of the Light.

Jensen was pacing, nervous as the time drew near for him to broadcast his speech. Jared had tried to reach him with words, to no avail, and now he reached out a long arm, snagging his lover around the waist and drawing him in to sit on his lap. “‘Baby, you’re making us all twitchy with your pacing. Anyone would think you were Sebastian.”

“I heard that!” Sebastian looked up from the game he was playing on his PAD. “And if you must know, my pacing is much more reminiscent of a leopard than that... witless shambling your other half was just employing.”

“Witless shambling?” Jensen’s eyes opened wide. “That’s harsh!”

“Harsh it may be,” returned Sebastian. “But so sadly true. You need to study my prowl. It’s slinky and sexy and does not ever include nail biting, mumbling and clutching at my hair. For a small fee I wouldn’t mind demonstrating.”

“That’s okay.” Jensen was chuckling now, and finally felt himself relax a little against Jared’s broad chest. “I know where it is if I ever need to avail myself of it.”

Rob came by at that moment with a cup full of something that smelled delicious and held it out to Jensen. “Kim sent this with instructions that you are to drink it all,” he said.

“Why?” Jensen frowned. “What’s in it?”

“Don’t ask me. I’m just the messenger boy,” said Rob. “She terrifies me, but you can ask her if you want.”

Kim had followed Rob out from Julian’s little kitchen and stood behind him with her hands on her hips. “It’s something that Traci left for Julian to take if ever he needed calming. I thought it might help.” She rolled her eyes at Rob, who had scurried into a corner and was apparently attempting to make himself invisible. “So just drink it. There’s a good boy.”

Jared laughed as Jensen blushed and began to sip at the concoction. Once he’d tasted it, however, he beamed and began to gulp it down. “That was awesome,” he said, handing the cup back to her and rising to his feet. “I guess it’s time now, isn’t it?”

“It is indeed.” Julian appeared in the doorway. “Come with me. Your public awaits you.”

Jensen grabbed Jared’s hand and followed the gaunt scientist down one of the warren like passageways to a small room that had been fitted out as a studio. Sterling flashed him a white-toothed grin as he took his place on the chair that had been set up in front of his camera.

“You just need to talk,” he told Jensen. “I’ll do the rest. You’ll be reaching every household and PAD in Righteousness. A star will be born.”

“Dude, I have never in my life wanted to become a star. I’m not sure where that whole idea came from.” Jensen squirmed in his seat. “Why can’t Richard do this part?”

“You’re whining, Ackles,” said Richard, who was fumbling through a stack of large cards. “I’m the one who’s going to be holding up your cue cards so that you remember what you’re supposed to say. I can’t possibly be in front of the camera as well. Besides, you’re the pretty one, remember?”

“Oh, fuck you!” Jensen turned to Jared. “I guess we just can’t get good staff these days.”

“Just talk, sweetheart. You’re gonna knock ‘em dead,” murmured Jared.

“I think that comes after his speech,” said Sterling. “And I’m gonna count you in, now. Ready? Five, four, three... two… one!”

There was no more time to panic. Taking a deep breath, Jensen began to speak. “People of Righteousness, you may not remember me, but I once lived among you, until the cruelty of the Guardians tore me from you. Like many before me, I was deemed dangerous and sent to the Earth, my very identity stripped away so that I would obey the Guardians. I am Jensen, the son of Donna and Alan Ackles.

“I won’t go into how things unfolded. Suffice it to say that I am here to bring you terrible news, but wonderful news as well. By now you know that Traci, the holy Seeress, has been sorely injured by one of your leaders and will never again see the sun rise over Righteousness. She went to the temple as was her duty, to impart the terrible knowledge that the dome that protects Righteousness is failing. There are ruptures in the foundations, and the plasteel can’t hold out much longer. Due to a great lack of foresight by your leaders, you don’t have enough of the material required to repair it on hand, and there’s probably not time to bring enough of it from Earth to effect the repairs before the foundation fails with catastrophic results. This is what she saw, and what she needed to report to your leaders.

“Unfortunately, your leaders have long since departed from the path of the Light and have taken a dark road from which there is no returning.

“You know this. You have seen it unfold in the barbaric punishments, the harsh curfews and the atrocities that have taken place in recent times. My mother was killed for speaking out against such things, publicly executed in the most hideous fashion.” Jensen closed his eyes briefly and swallowed the lump that appeared in his throat before continuing.

“Let me ask you this. How many more of you will die in such a fashion, or submit to the whims of Heyerdahl’s blind rage? You saw what he did to our beloved Seer today. What else is he capable of? I tell you, none of you are safe.

“I told you that I also had wonderful news for you, and I do. We are going to reclaim the city and end this reign of hatred and despair. The Guardians are all hiding away in the temple now, trusting to the Light that they forsook long ago. They no longer walk in the Light, and the Light will forsake them, but it will not forsake you, if you are steadfast. However, that isn’t the good news that I have for you.

“The good news is that the Earth is no longer a poisonous place. It’s a fertile, bountiful world once more, reclaimed by those of us who live there, and ready to take you in and allow you to return to the home of humanity. Once the Guardians are no more, we offer all who wish to go a place on Earth. You will no longer need to fear the world outside the dome, and you will live freely, love freely, become whoever you dream of being.

“I’m going now to make sure that your future is safe for you. When the doors to the temple open again, either you will be free, or I will be dead.”

“Bravo!” As Jensen finished his speech and slumped back in his chair, heaving a sigh of relief, Sebastian was loitering in the doorway to the little studio, “I feel myself quite inspired. What’s next?”

“We go and fight.” Jared grinned. “At last. I wanna go stick a sharp object or two into Heyerdahl.”

“I’m reserving Heyerdahl for myself.” Julian had entered the room and stood, grimly frowning. “I have weapons for you here, and Kim is bringing some for the others. Once we’re ready, we will go and lance this abscess that is the temple.”

Back in Julian’s workshop, Ty and Nicki had arrived via the hypergate from Traci’s home. Lindsey was remaining with Traci, but Katharine was there, bristling with anger at the terrible thing that had been done to the woman who had trained her. Kim raised an eyebrow at Julian. “Did I hear you announce your intention of joining the battle?” she asked.

“My dear, I always thought I was free from petty emotions such as revenge and hatred, but I find that I do after all have a tipping point.” He sighed, then smiled ruefully. “It’s really sad, and Traci will take me to task for it, I am sure. I must now live another hundred lives to expunge my desire to run berserk in retribution for the way my beloved was treated.”

He stooped to pull a box out from under the workbench and opened it. Inside were a number of shiny metal objects. “I’ve built a number of weapons, but these are new, and I think that under the circumstances these will serve us best.”

He took one of them and demonstrated the way that it not only fired an alarming ray that instantly demolished the cup and saucer Jensen had been drinking from earlier, but that the touch of a button would also project a kind of electronic bayonet. Everyone took one and tried to resist testing it out, unsure what they could safely disintegrate in an underground shelter.

“Okay,” said Richard, who had thought this out very carefully. “Ty is the one who can send out compulsions to the people around him. He will be suggesting to them that we are not a threat, merely another group of Guardians taking our place ready to fight. That’s going to give us the chance to blast anyone in the main hall. I know it sounds unsporting, but they outnumber us by around fifty to one, so the sooner we start reducing some of those odds, the better.”

Everyone nodded, and Julian stepped into their midst. “Okay, Rob,” he said. “Send us through and then wait for my call to return.”

Rob shot him a shy grin, and slapped the lever that would send them into the temple.

~*~

 

_Kids, this is Balance Bob with another little lesson for you:_

_When we look up to see the moon_  
we notice there’s a crack  
and though we weep to see it there  
we cannot turn things back

The inside of the temple was dark and somewhat sinister without the multi-colored pillars of light that usually illuminated the supplicant’s hall. They advanced in a line, Ty at their center, spraying the dark corners with the rays and hearing the cries that told of success. Ty had always been able to subtly cloud minds and make them believe what he suggested. That was the reason he had been sent to monitor Eric Brady’s progress back in the Lone Star Colony, before Jensen had reclaimed his personality. Now he concentrated with everything he had on suggesting that their small troupe was merely a platoon of Guardians making for the most strategic place to deploy.

Someone returned their fire, and a projectile sang past Ty’s ear, nicking it and making him lose concentration for just a moment. By the time he had the image he needed back in place and began to project it again, several more shots had been fired, and screams had announced the successful elimination of the shooter as a threat.

They reached the wide, curved stairs that led to the hall of confession and began to ascend, half of them moving ahead while the others stepped backwards up the stairs, covering their rear.

The lights were on as they reached the level above, and the little band of rebels shot down some twenty Guardians before they even realized that there were hostiles amongst them. It was too good to last, however, and before they were through the level to the one that would lead them to Rolston’s lair they found themselves in hand to hand combat against the remaining Guardians.

Ty lost sight of the others, all his attention on the one who was attacking him. He activated the bayonet that Julian had demonstrated and was mildly gratified when it sliced cleanly into his opponent and left him twitching on the ground. All around him he could see his companions hard pressed. Keeping the thought in his mind that he was not a threat, he worked his way over to where four or five Guardians were attacking Jensen, whose broadcast had most definitely not gone unnoticed. He found that inserting the bayonet into the back of the neck at the base of the skull was a very effective way of cutting down an opponent, and once he’d reduced Jensen’s opponents to a more manageable number he circled around and did the same to those who were outnumbering Richard.

Misha was uttering his war cry in an archaic language Ty didn’t recognize as he laid about himself with gusto, and Sebastian was in his element, neatly dispatching anyone stupid enough to come close. Kim had been injured, but despite blood trickling from a wound in her shoulder she was carving her way through the melee towards the stairway that would lead them to the upper level.

He could see Jared on the stairway already. He was firing down at anyone that gave him a clear shot, and as he watched, Richard reached him and took up a position a little lower down, emulating Jared.

Nicki was the one who killed the very last opponent who was still offering resistance. There might still have been people who had decided that discretion was the better part of valor, but they were nowhere to be seen, and it seemed that their pathway to the upper level was finally clear.

Cautiously, they made their way up the stairs, expecting at any moment to be fired upon. All was silent, and Julian pressed through to take the lead, followed by Sebastian, who was close behind him. They were all aware that the deserted appearance of the place had to be deceptive, and that they would find out just how deceptive soon enough.

Richard, Misha, Jensen and Jared had been in this situation before, and it was no surprise to Ty that they were happy to follow the others up the stairs and let someone else take point. Julian was the one who reached the head of the stairs first, and was turning to beckon the others when Ty saw movement in the darkness.

He wasn’t close enough to stop what would happen, but Sebastian, who had been pretty much stepping on Julian’s heels, screamed “No!” and flung himself forward to take the blade that had been intended for Julian.

Julian turned to fire, driving his bayonet into Heyerdahl as he simultaneously fired a shot that disintegrated a hole the size of a tennis ball through the man’s chest. Heyerdahl pitched forward and began to tumble down the stairs, narrowly missing taking little Katharine with him.

Dropping to his knees, Julian bent to study Sebastian’s wound. It was evident that it was a killing blow, but Sebastian wasn’t quite ready to go. He smiled a bloody smile at Julian.

“Sorry, Old Man. Got to go now, I think,” he said.

“No.” Julian was desperate. “I’ve called Rob. He’s going to send you up to Lindsey. She can fix you up, you know she can.”

“Don’t be silly, old man. It’s too late for me. I had fun, and that’s the best way to go, don’t you think?” Sebastian coughed, and there was foam on his lips as he labored for breath. “Wish I could’ve seen Earth. Catch you on the next...”

Julian saw the light die from Sebastian’s eyes, and as he rose to his feet the tears were blinding him. “I’ll take you to Earth with me,” he said. “You’ll go home with me.”

Stepping up beside him, Ty projected what comfort he could. They needed Julian if they were to finish this. He watched as the old scientist squared his shoulders and moved forward. Stepping into position beside Ty, Nicki nudged him. “That was well done,” she whispered. “We can’t have Julian falling apart. There’s still too much to do.”

There were fifteen Guardians left up on the third floor. They died one by one as the small troupe passed through the control rooms and entered Rolston’s private quarters. They looked everywhere - even in the most unlikely places, but there was no sign of Rolston. Julian refused to leave, ripping up mattresses and peering in cupboards, and it was only when Jake came rushing inside from the door that led to the roof and the landing pad that he paused for a moment, his frantic search on hold for a moment.

“I think we’re too late,” Jake called. “Traci’s jetcar is missing, and I’m pretty sure he’s the one that’s taken it. The coward’s run away and left his people to fend for themselves.”

It did seem to be true. The little runabout that everyone knew so well was no longer where Traci had parked it when she’d gone to confront Rolston and Heyerdahl, and the roof was empty. Julian snarled. Beckoning Nicki and Jake in close, he mumbled that he was going back to his workshop to take care of something important, and asked them to supervise cleaning up the temple, since they more than anyone else knew the layout of the place. As the two nodded, Julian gathered Sebastian’s limp body in his arms and sent a thought winging to Rob, and then, with a soft pop, he and his dead comrade vanished as Rob transported them back to his workshop.

~*~

 

_Balance Bob’s thought for the day:_

_Mother Nature cares for us if we can treat her kindly  
We must treat our earth with care and not go through life blindly_

The day was drawing to a close, and the glows had come on down in the city, where there seemed to be a party going on in defiance of the curfew that had been in place for as long as Jensen could remember. Sounds of revelry floated up to the roof of the temple, and Jensen leaned on the balustrade, watching the exuberant displays of a people who had suddenly tasted freedom.

The rest of the group had stopped their fruitless search for Rolston and were gathered around his computer console, watching as Misha began to work through the files it contained. Finally, going back to the doorway, Jensen beckoned Jake over and held out his hand to clap him on the back.

“I know you were working on the transmitter to Earth, to make sure that nothing could get through. Do you think you could fix that up now? It would be really useful to be able to talk to the folks back home now that there’s no longer any intention of killing anyone during a live feed.”

“I don’t think it would be that difficult.” Jake frowned for a moment, obviously working through the task. “Julian and I simply replaced one chip, and I have the original one in my quarters, but you know Traci has a connection to Earth if you need it in a hurry.”

“That’s true.” Jensen nodded, “Might be a good idea to fix it up, but we do need to start transporting the people who want to go in a hurry, while Mars and Earth are still in opposition. We’ve got about a two week window, before they are too far apart for the hypergate to work, and I hate to think what would happen to someone who was being transmitted if there was nowhere for them to be received. I need to get in touch with Earth to set up a place for the refugees to be once they land until they’re ready to get out there on their own. Don’t forget, the gravity is higher, and they will need to acclimatize.”

At the thought of being transmitted into empty space, Jake had turned faintly green. “I take your point,” he said. “I’ll grab Sterling and give Adrianne a call if she’s still alive. She’s helped out in the past, and I know she wasn’t a fan of the present regime, so she probably took cover once we started to invade.”

He turned away, calling Sterling as he went. The two of them were soon in conference with Nicki, and when Jensen saw him calling someone up on his PAD, he went to find Jared.

Jared was out on the landing, happily tossing bodies down to the floor below, and he looked up with a grin as Jensen approached.

“Hey, baby. I’m just helping to tidy up. Apparently there’s a furnace over behind the sanctoriums, where they dispose of the dead, and isn’t that a chilling thought?”

Jensen mulled that thought over. It was indeed chilling. He supposed that was how Matt had been disposed of all those years ago, and he was sure that there would be nothing left of his mother to honor now. He made a sound in his throat that was almost a growl and grabbed Jared’s shoulders. “We need to get up to Traci’s. I have to make sure Jim’s prepared to receive the refugees that want to bail on Righteousness. I’m going to go now. You wanna come, or are you happy to stay here and play Guardian tossing?”

It seemed as if Jared could sense the distress in his lover’s voice, could see the tight way he held his shoulders and to Jensen’s relief nodded, straightening up and throwing an arm around him. “Let’s go.”

Rob caught their thought and a second later they were in Traci’s sitting room. Katharine came bustling in as they oriented themselves, and gave them a faintly harassed smile. “Hi, guys. Make yourselves at home. Traci’s still out cold, and we’re keeping her that way for now, because Julian’s coming up in the next hour or so. He says he’s got something that will help her.”

“I guess that means we’ve got a couple of hours of downtime then,” murmured Jared, squeezing the shoulder he still held. “Might be a good idea to catch a little rest and relaxation. Gonna need to be fresh later.”

“Good call,” said Jensen. As Katharine nodded and headed back towards Traci’s room the two men made for the one Traci had allocated to them for their stay. He felt as if he’d been awake for days, and, in fact it had been almost eighteen hours since he’d last slept. Kicking off shoes and top clothes, the two of them sank gratefully into the bed. Jensen was yawning as Jared pulled him close against his chest, and a heartbeat later the two were out for the count.

~*~

 

_Balance Bob’s thought for the day:_

_Now that our water’s nice and clean  
we’re going to help our earth turn green_

Jared woke to the sound of soft voices elsewhere in the apartment. He slowly drifted to consciousness, feeling wonderfully well rested, Jensen a warm presence against him. He frowned, wondering what time it was, and when he checked his PAD he realized that they’d slept for far longer than the two hours they’d intended.

He turned his head to study Jensen. His lover was still apparently deep in dreamland, purple smudges below his eyes indicating the exhaustion he felt. Jared felt his chest clench momentarily as a surge of love flooded him. Jensen was still beautiful, even after the years of stress and responsibility he’d so willingly taken on. There were lines now that Jared knew were there although for the moment sleep had smoothed them - crows’ feet at the corners of his eyes that spoke of laughter shared, and deeper lines in the corners of his mouth that showed the stress of the work he did. Right now, with those lustrous eyes closed in slumber, thick lashes fanning across freckled cheeks and soft mouth relaxed, Jensen looked like a little boy.

It must have been the weight of Jared’s gaze that woke him, because Jensen made a little, snuffling sound, and his eyes flickered open. Jared couldn’t resist, bent to kiss him, first his nose, then lower, nibbling at his lips and then pressing down firmly as he claimed the luscious mouth.

He felt as if he were floating, lighter than he ought to be, even allowing for the lower Martian gravity. He slid his arms around Jensen and pressed against him, the length of him tight against Jensen’s body, feeling himself grow hard as he lost himself in emotion.

Jensen made pleased little sounds as he returned the kiss, opening for Jared and sliding arms around his neck to pull him closer. His hips rolled, sparking pleasure through Jared and calling out an answering groan from him. A moment later and Jensen had rolled him onto his back and was straddling him, fumbling to put Jared’s cock against the place they both needed it to be.

“No lube,” he whispered, voice scratchy with need.

Holding two fingers out to Jared, Jensen rasped, “Spit.”

It would have to do. Spit and precome and care, infinite care as Jensen held him captive, slowly fed him in, and then heat and sweet delirium, and almost too much after all the time they hadn’t been able to take the time to connect.

The babelfish let them converse without breaking the kisses they were sharing, and Jared could tell when Jensen began to feel it and moved beyond the burn to the tingling, piercing bliss that would rock them both.

Groping for Jensen’s cock, Jared began to jerk it, hand squeezing and twisting with each slip and slide of his hand. Jensen had arched backwards, and if Jared looked down he could almost see where they were joined.

It wasn’t going to last, because it had been too long, and they were so ready. Jensen was the first to lose it, movements ragged as he gazed desperately into Jared’s eyes. The need that shone from those frantic eyes spoke to Jared, expressing what could never adequately be said, even after all the years they’d spent together.

Jared gripped Jensen’s hips, thrust up hard and fast as Jensen began to falter, taking command and fucking him hard and fast. He was rewarded very swiftly by the tightening around him as Jensen lost it and began to shudder through his orgasm. He shot again and again, coating Jared’s hand and chest.

Watching Jensen, Jared drank in the way his face reflected what he was feeling and felt himself respond, coming suddenly as if he were a part of Jensen, so entangled in Jensen that he didn’t know where Jensen ended and he began. He thought at that moment that maybe he could lose himself in Jensen and become a single entity.

It was over all too soon. Aftershocks made them shudder, left them boneless, and they crashed down onto the mattress together in an untidy, sweaty, sated heap.

“I think we were floating or something. What’s up with that?” Jensen was the first to recover enough to articulate.

“I think you’re right.” Jared frowned. “Weird. Think we can harness it and generate some kind of sex energy from it?”

“I think you’ve been reading way too many comic books.” Jensen smirked. “You’re right, though. It was certainly weird.”

Jared kissed Jensen again and then got up to go find a washcloth. By the time he returned, Jensen had successfully gotten himself upright and their interlude was done.

~*~

Showered, clean and dressed, the two of them emerged from their room to find Traci and Julian sitting, talking quietly, while Lindsey and Katharine could be seen through the archway that led into the next room, playing a game of something that might have been based on table tennis, if only there could be more than one surface on which to pound the ball. As they stood watching, Katharine gave a shriek that indicated she’d won a point and Traci turned to look. Catching sight of the two of them, she rose and went to greet them.

Jared couldn’t take his eyes from her face. In place of the soft brown eyes she’d had were now two silvery disks that gave her an alien, exotic appearance. She gave him a wink.

“You’re looking at my new eyes, aren’t you?” she said. “A while back I told Julian that I was losing my sight. I just never told him how.”

Flashing a rare smile that lit his face, Julian nodded. “It works on the same principal as the babelfish. It’s a pseudo-organic, genetically manufactured organism that was designed using Traci’s DNA. It’s a technology that I can take with me as my gift to your people on Earth.”

Jared was thinking of some of the so-called ‘abominations’ who were his closest friends. He was mentally cataloguing ways in which they could be given working organs to replace the missing if they wanted to have them. He wondered if any of them would choose to do so. The thought of it caused him to smile back at Julian. Perhaps there would be a way to separate Chris and Steve and enable them to live out their lives as separate entities. He was about to say something further, when Jensen stepped up.

“I need to get the evacuation started,” he said to Traci. “Can I call Jim and Mike from here? The temple communication satellite is still out of action, or it was when I left. Jake was going to fix it, but I don’t know how long that’s going to take.”

A quick set of calculations told them that it was mid-evening down on Earth, and Traci led Jensen away to make the call. Jared followed, wanting to talk to Traci about their recent experience of floating, although a little nervous about revealing what they’d been doing when it had happened.

As luck would happen, Jensen got Mike when he finally raised someone in Tulsa. Swiftly explaining the reason for his need to contact them, he told them about the possibility that there would be refugees arriving from Mars. “We’re going to need a safe place for us to send them, and somewhere for them to stay while we process them and help them find their place on Earth. They’re going to be pretty much bewildered.”

When the call came in, Mike, who was on watch at that moment, had summoned Jim, and then gone to wake Tom up, since he’d gone to bed with a dose of the flu. The four of them had discussed a receiving center, and finally settled on Love Field as the arrival point, since the terminal would be perfect for processing the arrivals. It was decided that they would be able to get things set up to start the immigration process the following day, and that they would be able to assimilate the newcomers by taking them to the disused Guardian’s center at Amarillo to begin with. There was room for at least five hundred there, after which they would need to look further afield.

Julian suggested that he, Misha and Ty get started on repairing the Impala, so that they could fly it home, and at that point Jensen shook his head. “By all means, you guys fix her up and fly back to Earth in her, but I’m not going in her. I want me and Jay to go reclaim the JTP and take it home.”

Jared slid his arms around Jensen’s waist from behind when he heard his words. “I know why you want that,” he mumbled against Jensen’s neck. “Naughty boy!”

“You’re a mind-reader, aren’t you?” snickered Jensen as he turned his face for a kiss. “Besides, I’m sure you don’t want to abandon the JTP.”

“Hell no! JTP is my brainchild.” Jared was shocked at the very thought. “I put years of my life into that ship. I don’t want to leave her behind. I’d feel terrible if we abandoned her.” He looked at Jensen and raised his eyebrow. “Second honeymoon time, don’t you think?”

“You took the words straight out of my mouth,” replied Jensen, eyes crinkling in the smile that made Jared’s heart flip even after all these years.

There was still a lot to do before they could leave. Jensen had written a speech, which he insisted that Richard and he present together, and Sterling was summoned to set up the camera again. They had decided to set up the hypergate in the Penitent’s Hall in the temple for want of a better place, and now they were giving instructions to those who wished to travel to Earth.

Jake and Nicki were organizing the orderly evacuation, and the people of Righteousness were told that the first person would be transmitted to Earth at noon the following day. There was to be a one week window during which it would be safe to make the journey, and then it would be too late. People would need to decide very quickly if they wished to go or stay, and would need to carry with them only what would fit in a backpack. They would be provided with anything else they needed once they arrived on Earth.

Richard, cynic to the last, expressed doubt as to whether anyone would want to leave the home that they’d known all their life, and he, along with everyone else in the group, was blown away when Nicki announced that there was already a line-up several hundred strong on the temple steps, with more people joining it every moment.

The entire party left Traci’s to return to Julian’s workshop to do the necessary setting up that would enable the exodus to begin the following day, and while Julian and Rob took charge of replicating the hypergate and installing further machines in the temple, Jared took Traci to one side.

“You look so different,” he told her.

“It’s the eyes,” she said, smirking. “I look much more mysterious and inscrutable now, don’t I?”

“I don’t think it’s that,” mused Jared, considering her. “You just look...”

“Happy?” She nodded. “Yes, I am. Julian and I have waited for a very long time to be together. Can you blame me for being a little girlish about it?”

“Hell, no. I know Jen and I have been together for a few years now, but I still get all shuddery when he gives me that smile of his.” Jared chuckled. “Which brings me to what I wanted to talk to you about. This morning when we... When we...” He blushed and she elbowed him in the side and laughed out loud.

“Go on! You don’t have to say it; we all heard you.”

“Oh, Light!” Jared’s face was glowing like a beacon as he heard what she’d said.

“It’s all right. You deserved it. You and Jensen have been working hard lately.” She paused and then said delicately, “So what was it you wanted to ask me about this morning, when you were relieving a little stress?”

Laughing, Jared clapped his hands over his eyes, “I can’t see you! You’re not there!”

“For goodness’ sake, child, spit it out.” She was still smirking when Jared peeked at her through his fingers. “I know all about sex, even though there are no birds or bees in this Light forsaken place.”

“I’m not asking for tips on sex, dammit!” Jared rolled his eyes. “It’s just that somehow Jen and I were floating, and I wondered if it was something Julian installed in that bed that made it happen.”

“My dear Jared, haven’t you realized yet the things you can do?” Traci put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. “You’re a telekinetic. Haven’t you noticed that, with your ability to move entire space crafts? Once this is all over and we have some time, I want to train you. There’s only one other ‘kinetic that I know of, since for many years the Fellowship took it on themselves to declare any psionic abilities abomination and ship them down to Lone Star.”

It took a few moments for her words to sink in before Jared understood. “You mean I can just pick things up with my brain? That’s wild.” He thought for a few minutes and then said slowly. “I always thought I was unnaturally strong. I could always carry double what anyone else was capable of.” He grinned. “Cool. So who else is like me?

“You haven’t met her yet, but she’ll be coming to Earth with us. Her name’s Loretta and she’ll help get you trained.” Traci smirked and then pursed her lips as she studied him, her silvery eyes giving her an alien and quite menacing air. “It’s a shame we can’t save your genes. I think both you and Jensen need to leave descendants. We must organize that.”

Clapping his hands over his ears, Jared gave a shout. “Oh, that does it! Going now...” and then he fled!

~*~

 

_Balance Bob’s thought for the day:_

_To keep the balance we must learn to work with one another.  
Abominations can’t exist when everyone’s your brother_

The week passed by. Almost everyone had been transported to Earth, and Righteousness was close to deserted. It wasn’t a moment too soon. The dome had begun to make alarming sounds, creaks and groans that heralded imminent problems. As the final refugee passed through the hypergate, only the small party who would fly home were left. Jensen and Jared had retrieved the JTP from Deimos, thanks to the ubiquitous hypergate, and Jared had set about giving it a good cleaning. Its exterior shone softly in the faint sunlight, and it was ready to go. Richard, Misha, Julian, Traci and Ty would take the Impala back to Earth, and Julian’s workshop had been dismantled, its many treasures carefully packed and stowed in the two spaceships, ready for conveyance to Earth.

The party was getting their belongings together for the journey, and all the calculations had been done. Between them, Misha, Ty and Julian had made a number of repairs to the Impala, and Julian was bursting with excitement at the thought of taking his sweetheart into space.

Julian and Traci were spending long periods of time behind closed doors, emerging flushed and giggling at jokes only they knew, and Richard had christened them the Honeymooners. Now that the time to leave was upon them, Traci stood gazing down at the city she’d helped destroy, part pride and part sadness in her heart.

Misha came to stand with her, admiring the view of marble streets and houses all leading to the imposing temple in the center, the prismatic lights still beaming out from the central spire. The sanctoriums had all been dismantled and broken, and the temple remained a bare building inhabited by those few Guardians who had survived the night of the revolution and refused to take the offer of amnesty and safe transportation to Earth. Of Rolston there had not been a single sign.

“Lift off in twenty minutes,” Misha said. “I’ve got to say I’m looking forward to getting home and sinking my fangs into some bunny stew. All this synthesized protein is boring after the first bite or so.”

“Meat really isn’t good for you, you know,” said Traci, prodding him in his belly. “Slows you down and makes you sluggish.”

“It feeds my brain and helps me think,” protested Misha.

“Each to his own, I suppose,” she said, laughing. “But I’m guessing that we should go and get strapped in ready for launch.” Turning away, she went over to the door.

Misha turned his head to watch her go. “Be there in a minute,” he said as she opened the door that led down the passageway to the garage where the Impala lay awaiting them, and so he did not see the approach of the runabout that had been Traci’s until it was almost upon him.

At the last minute, something alerted him, and he turned back to the window, but by then it was too late. He gave a yell as the little convertible crashed through the window, destroying the room and taking Misha with it. At the controls, Rolston, torn and bloodied, shrieked obscenities as the jetcar disintegrated, and he was flung into one of the stone pillars to be smashed to pulp against it.

There was nothing to be done. Traci’s home, built into the fabric of the dome as it was, had suffered enough of a shock that it began to crumble, chunks of the heavy masonry and plasteel falling to crash down on the roofs of the city far below.

Traci had taken one look at the damage and now began to run. Scrambling through into the Impala she screamed, “Shut the door! Go! Go!”

“But Misha...?” Richard frowned.

“Too late! Go now!”

Ty, who could feel the floor shuddering, calmly set the anti-gravity onto full and tilted the nose of the Impala as he waited for the roof doors to open to the remote control in Julian’s hand. The much smaller JTP, which had been sitting beside her, bobbed up through the space in the opening doors, a soap bubble released from a child’s wand, and moments later Ty sent the Impala sliding out after it.

It wasn’t a moment too soon. With a sound like a groan, Traci’s house cracked, slid free of the dome and crashed down to the ground beneath it, opening up a vast wound in the dome through which the atmosphere escaped with force enough to cause the Impala to bounce upwards. Clever steering by Ty was the only thing that saved them from crashing into the JTP. As they soared upwards towards space and their journey home, Traci shed a tear for the life she had known. A new life was waiting, but there would be no going home ever again.

~*~

 

_Balance Bob’s thought for the day:_

_There was a young fellow named Jensen_  
Whose crimes were too heinous to mention  
So they shipped him to Earth  
Gave the Lone Star new birth  
Though I don’t think that was their intention

Jared loved the silence of space. He loved the weightlessness and the forced leisure, but most of all he loved that he had Jensen with him at last, and that they would be alone with no distractions for almost a week. Jensen had been as excited as a kid getting out of school at the prospect of spending five days in isolation with Jared, and as they took off, zipping up through the opening doors in the roof of Traci’s garage, he let out a whoop of glee.

The bounce that sent the Impala careening upwards made both he and Jared curse in shock, but as the Impala soared past them Jared merely muttered, “Show off!” and continued to plot his course. Neither of them looked back to observe the end of the city of Righteousness.

Much later, well past Deimos and into the empty space between planets, Jared ran a scan for anything that might screw up their course. “I’m not taking any chances this time,” he told Jensen. “Don’t want to be blindsided by comets, meteorites, Santa Claus or the Ghost of Heyerdahl. One way or another we’re going to have a smooth flight without any panics.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” said Jensen, smirking. “Let me know when you’re sure that we aren’t going to crash into the wicked witch of the west or something.” He was still grinning naughtily as he began to shed his clothes.

Jared pursed his lips in an approving whistle as Jensen fumbled his discarded garments into a locker. “If anyone were to ask me what the closest heavenly body is to me, I’d have to tell them...”

Jensen groaned. “Cheesy! Does that line ever work for you?”

“Why?” Jared grinned, unrepentant dimples flashing. “Do you have a better one?”

“Oh, yeah,” Jensen snickered. “It never fails. I use, ‘excuse me, does this rag smell like chloroform to you?’ and they melt into my arms.”

For a moment, Jared gazed at him, looking somewhat dumbfounded, and then he smacked Jensen’s arm, sending him spinning into the wall as he flailed and tried to halt himself. Jared snaked his arms around Jensen, pulling him up close and winding up against the bulkhead alongside his lover.

“Dumbass!” Jensen laughed up at him as Jared bent to kiss him, sinking into his lush mouth and tightening his hold until it made Jensen gasp.

“But you love me anyway.” Jared felt his heart give a little hiccup as he gazed down into eyes that shone with love for him. “And I quite like you too, so that makes things tidy.”

“Shut up. You adore me,” said Jensen, sinking his teeth into the tendon in Jared’s neck, the sharp pain exciting Jared even as it made him whimper. “And you’re wearing way too many clothes.”

“I’m sorry.” Jared began to wriggle out of the coveralls that were his only garment, snagging them as they hung in the space beside them and tucking them into one of the pigeonholes that dotted the bulkhead for specifically that purpose. “I hope this is better.” He gazed into Jensen’s eyes, following them down as they checked him out, his glance coming to rest on his cock, full and fat and ready.

“For me? You shouldn’t have.” Jensen reached out to touch, fingers sliding through the moisture oozing from the tip to spread it along the surface of it. “But I’m kinda glad you did.”

There was a moment when Jensen did something skillful to the head of his cock that made Jared gasp in his turn, and then his love was folding himself in the middle so he could take the tip of it into his mouth to suckle.

Jared watched, and Jensen gazed up at him, smiling around his cock as he tickled it with the tip of his tongue.

“Tease!” Jared’s belly felt as though there were warm little creatures slithering within it, and he shivered.

“Too right,” murmured Jensen, voice promising dark delights. His head dipped back down and that succulent mouth sucked and nipped at the sensitive skin on Jared's inner thigh, leaving wet trails in its wake.

It was quiet there, no sound from anything but his pounding heart, and the blood that was rushing through his body. Jensen’s teeth were a threat hidden in velvet that nipped as often as he kissed. He laid soft, sucking kisses that moved so close, so impossibly close to Jared’s straining cock and swollen aching balls, then suddenly stopped. Jensen’s strong hands held his hips firmly in place. Jared moaned and bit down on his lip so hard that he nearly drew blood. That mouth felt so good, so good and he wanted more of its teasing, silken heat. He whispered a plea, and Jensen snickered. He tried again, shameless with his begging, no longer caring what he had to say or do to get what he wanted.

Jensen’s eyes were closed now as he worked, and he began to hum softly, head bobbing as he sank down on Jared, pulling heat, pulling tingles through him, saturating his body with little shocks of pleasure.

He watched as Jensen turned his head, his mouth caught Jared's heavy balls and gently sucked and licked them, feeling them tighten and draw close to his body.

“Oh no, not yet you don't, I'm not finished with you yet!” Jensen’s words made him jump, tore him free from his trance-like enjoyment of Jensen’s mouth, and then Jensen circled his balls with his finger and thumb to hold them down in place,

“Fuck!” The word burst from Jared, and elicited another snicker from his beloved. His body was arched, bathed in sweat. He could feel the tendons in his neck and arms standing out as every part of him tensed, and all he could do was whisper, “Please,” over and over again.

Jared had closed his eyes, and didn’t realize when Jensen moved up until he felt Jensen pressing against him, body writhing and mouth sucking greedily at his neck. He wrapped his arms around the lithe body and claimed the tender mouth, nipping at Jensen’s lips as he kissed and kissed.

“Don’t you want to put that somewhere?” asked Jensen, between kisses. “It feels like it’s a little lost.”

“Nah! It knows exactly where it wants to go,” gritted Jared, and Jensen laughed, low and dirty, then wrapped his legs around Jared’s waist.

“Have at it, baby!” he said. “It’s all prepped and ready for you.” He gave a little wriggle and squirm, and reached down behind himself to get Jared in position. Jared caught his breath as he felt Jensen push back, and found himself suddenly surrounded by tight, silken heat.

Jensen controlled their movements, working his body to drive Jared in deep and hard. All Jared could do was hang on for the ride, clinging tightly to his man and allowing the sweet sensations to wash through him. It wasn’t long before they reached their crescendo, sending waves of pleasure crashing through him. As Jared came, Jensen chuckled.

“You’re mine,” he murmured and bit down on Jared’s shoulder as he followed him into orgasm.

~*~

 

 

 

Balance Bob’s thought for the day:

_We must take people as they are_  
Instead of trying to change them  
The art of love is not control  
Don't try to rearrange them

The rest of the journey was uneventful. There were no uninvited comets to disturb the flight path, and both Jared and Jensen made the most of their trip, turning their enforced solitude into a time for reconnection and strengthening of their bond.

The Impala had arrived on Earth bearing Ty, Richard, Julian and Traci, and all of the gadgetry from Julian’s workshop beneath the sands of Mars. The others had all opted to be transported by the hypergate. Jared and Jensen would be the last to return, having deliberately chosen to make the journey in the JTP so they could spend some quality time together. It was only as they passed within the broken moon’s orbit and dropped into an orbit of their own, starting to circle the world that spread out below them like a promise of home, that they heard the first communication from Tulsa. It was Richard, who called them to break the news to them that Misha had been killed.

The news stunned them. Misha’s loss to The Balance would be immeasurable. Julian would be an asset, but he didn’t have Misha’s strength. He was frail, and time would tell if he would be able to flourish under Earth’s heavier gravity. Hopefully he could train Jake, Sterling and Rob so that they would be able to step up and fill in the gap that Misha’s passing had left. AJ, Travis, Chad and Gabe would also be able to help, but even so it was a terrible loss.

Sighing, Jensen realized that he’d already automatically slipped back into his role as organizer, and he could already see how it would part him from Jared all over again. Their contented journey was over. The problems of the real world would be upon them very shortly, and Jensen made a frustrated sound. There were twenty five hundred newcomers to Earth to settle, and no doubt that in itself would provide enough work to keep him busy for the rest of his life if he let it happen. He turned to Jared.

“Do you think it would be cowardly of me to step down from government?” He searched Jared’s face, looking for his response. “I’m tired. I just want to settle down and be with you. I don’t want to lose any more time doing stuff for other people if I can’t be with you. There’s a whole raft of new blood now, and I’m sure that there will be some who want to manage the joint. If this whole trip has taught me anything, it’s how we can’t depend on being around for forever. If a bomb drops on me tomorrow, I want to have made the most of our time together.”

“You’ve given a lot, love,” said Jared, after a few minutes of thought. “I can see where you’re coming from. You might want to take a break for a while, and I’m on board with that. What do you say about taking a trip and exploring some? We could head west and see if there’s any sign of life toward the ocean, or we could go on a road trip to the north and see what’s there. Chad found a bunch of old maps in the temple library, and I wonder just how much the End Times affected things there.”

Jensen let out a breath he’d been holding for far too long and snuggled back against Jared. They would be home within the next couple of hours, and they would tell their friends the news, but until the time came, they would make the most of their final hours of freedom. The future could take care of itself.

~*~

 

Epilogue

 

_There'll be no more from Balance Bob._  


_You have my leave to cry and sob.  
But even though our Bob is gone  
We've learned from him, and we'll go on._

Some you win; some you lose.

It was midsummer’s day, and six weeks after the evacuation of Righteousness. Richard woke early knowing that there were a whole bunch of things he needed to achieve before the sun went down again and even though it was the longest day of the year he would be hard pressed to fit them all in. He mentally reviewed the list of tasks. Jensen had indicated that he would be stepping down from his role in government after today, and he needed to talk to Jim about succeeding him. Jim wasn’t as charismatic as Jensen, but then Richard knew that he would have to go a very long way to find someone who was, and at least Jim understood the issues and the work that the role entailed.

The fact that Jensen was still around made the second task somewhat of a nail-biter. A week ago, a man had come forward to offer his services. He’d brought with him a daughter, and as Richard had listened to what the man had to say he hoped against hope that Jensen could find it in his heart to at least listen to his message. The man was Alan Ackles, Jensen’s father, and Richard was torn. On the one hand, it was evident that Alan had repented of the acts that had ensured Jensen’s sentencing to the Lone Star Colony, and that he was sincerely grieving for the loss of his wife. His daughter, Mackenzie, had been with him when he’d finally managed to gain an audience with Richard. Richard’s first thought had been to dismiss Alan to obscurity for the way he’d treated his own son, but on the other hand, Alan’s skills were desperately needed by their fledgling State. Alan had been the Guardian in charge of the manufactories where the junk and scrap Jared scavenged had been turned into useful materials to feed into the replicators. The current Balance had none of the knowledge Alan could impart. Today Richard would be breaking it to Jensen that his father and sister had made it to Earth and wanted to be a part of their future. He was getting ulcers just thinking about the ways that this could go sour.

‘God, Misha, I’ve got the sword of your fucking ancestors, but I don’t have your warped brain. I really miss you and your weird insights. Wish you were here.’

The integration of the newcomers from Righteousness had presented its own set of problems. Around a third of the immigrants had experienced negative effects from their arrival on earth. The gravity was higher and that was a challenge. The fact that the population of Mars had been locked into their worship of The Light meant that a good percentage of them felt disillusioned that there was no longer an outlet for them to practice the only religion they had ever known, and were setting up their own little temples to the Light with all the attendant restrictions and exclusions that entailed. Richard sighed. He didn’t want to crack down on anyone, but the law of the Balance stressed inclusion, and he was very much afraid that anyone that couldn’t accept that would need to leave. So far he hadn’t managed to devise a plan that would help the dissidents to integrate. He only hoped that someone would come up with a plan, preferably one that didn’t include mind wiping and re-education. He’d been up since long before the dawn trying to prioritize the tasks he had to accomplish that day, and his mind was rapidly approaching meltdown. He needed a stimulant, preferably coffee, if he was to get through the rest of the day.

The afternoon would bring him some relaxation, since it was to be the wedding of Traci and Julian, the heroes of Righteousness. Richard had arranged for Alona to do the catering and Traci had sent in a list of things which Julian wasn’t able to eat without getting sick. It had been touch and go for Julian when he’d first arrived on Earth. The gravity pulled at him and exhausted his slender frame, while the air of earth, laden with dust and pollens, particles of all descriptions, had affected his lungs, compromising his body’s attempts at exercise and making every breath painful for him. They had all feared for him, but with Traci’s help he’d rallied, and his health was improving every day. Oddly enough, the very light which Julian had rebelled against had proven to hold the cure to the man’s health problems, and he now seemed to be regaining his former healthy constitution. Julian had established himself in the Temple School at Old Dallas, and had assembled a class of students to whom he was teaching his knowledge and methodology. The inventions that were resulting from the initiative were already helping to move their society to a better place. Richard reflected that Julian and Traci well deserved to have their day in the sun.

The intention was to broadcast the wedding to everyone as a symbol of joy and inclusivity. Richard hoped that it would go well. He was looking forward to it, and to the celebration that would be held following their handfasting, but before that could happen, he had a task to perform that he couldn’t help thinking was going to be unpleasant. He checked his PAD, and noted that it was almost time. Heaving a sigh, he set aside the documents he’d been compiling and rose to his feet to go in search of Jensen.

Jensen and Jared had flown in to Tulsa the previous night to be present for the wedding, and when Richard entered the refectory he instantly spotted both men eating breakfast. It was a given that the two of them would be together, still wrapped up in each other even after all these years. He almost didn’t want to go and disturb them, knowing how the news he brought would affect them, but he’d promised, and, besides, it was way too late to call things off now.

He was crossing the room to where Jensen was busily trying to stop Jared filching his last piece of bacon. Alona was watching from the hatch between the dining area and the kitchen. Richard met her eyes as he approached the two, and she winked and held out a plate with several more strips of bacon on it. He changed course, grabbing it from her with a murmur of thanks. As he made his way back to where they were sitting, Jensen looked up to greet him and Jared chose that moment to pounce. The bacon rose from the plate without any apparent outside agency and disappeared into his mouth, and he gave an evil cackle when Jensen realized he had lost his fight.

“I see you’re using your powers for evil. Not to worry. I come with reinforcements,” smirked Richard, holding the plate Alona had given him out to Jensen.

“You can stay,” said Jensen, grinning. “He can leave any time, but you can stay!”

“You love me,” Jared said, chewing messily.

“Not any more, you bacon thief! I was saving that ‘til last because I was going to specially enjoy it, and you stole it from me.” Jensen turned his shoulder to Jared, more to protect the new supply of bacon than anything, and Jared put his hand up to his mouth, making as if to spit.

“You can have it back if you like,” he said, and at that both Richard and Jensen made disgusted sounds as they scrambled away from him.

“Don’t be revolting!” Jensen swatted his shoulder. “Haven’t I taught you any manners?”

Jared’s face assumed a spuriously contrite expression that obviously didn’t fool Jensen at all from the eyeroll he gave it. “You’re saved, but only because I have more bacon that looks even more delicious,” said Jensen, hastily cramming several pieces into his mouth at once. “In fact, because I am magnanimous, I will give you one more piece.” He laid the plate on the table in front of Jared and sat smirking.

Richard coughed. Alan and Mackenzie were due to arrive within the next few minutes. “Guys? Uh, Jensen?”

Jensen must have heard something in Richard’s tone, because he looked up, cheeks bulging like a hamster. He raised his eyebrows in inquiry.

“I’ve got something to discuss with you. It’s kind of urgent.” Richard paused, not totally sure how to tell Jensen his news.

“Better spit it out, Richard,” said Jared. “His mouth is too full to interrupt. You’ll never have a better chance... ow!”

It seemed that Jensen had aimed a kick at Jared’s shins, because Jared fell silent and there was a tiny smirk on Jensen’s face even as he chewed. Richard took a deep breath and then threw caution to the winds.

“Jensen, I need you to listen before you yell at me, okay?” He didn’t wait for the explosion he was sure would come. “I was approached by someone who has a huge skillset that would benefit the Balance, and I need you to at least meet with him and hear him out.”

By this time, Jensen was chewing madly, trying to clear his mouth enough to express his opinion of what Richard was telling him. Richard tried not to laugh at the facial gymnastics that Jensen was achieving, because that would be bad.

“Three days ago, when you were up at Love Field, Alan Ackles came to see me. He brought your sister with him, and he is heartbroken. He blames himself for Donna’s death and for you being sent to Lone Star. I wouldn’t ask it of you, but he has all the information for setting up manu...”

“Save it!” It wasn’t Jensen who spoke; it was Jared, and he looked angry. “I’m forever grateful that Jensen was exiled down here, but that doesn’t excuse the things that were done to Jen in the name of the fucking Light!”

“How can he benefit us?” Jensen had made headway at last with his mouthful, and while his speech was a little indistinct it was easy enough to understand. His face was set, and Richard shuddered as he looked between the two of them and saw a uniformly cold expression on each face.

“He can set up manufactories to replace the ones on Mars,” said Richard, his voice almost a whisper. “I’m sorry...”

“Of course I’ll talk to him.” Jensen sounded remote, and Richard sighed inwardly. This was messing with his karma, big-time. Maybe it was time that he and Alona quit politics too and went to set up a smallholding somewhere out in the unclaimed lands. He hardly ever saw his kids these days, and enough was enough. He took a deep breath but didn’t get a chance to say what he needed to, because one of the guys from the front desk - Richard thought his name might be Osric - came up to him to whisper that Alan and Mackenzie were at reception. Shrugging, he let the cards fall as they may.

“Bring ‘em in,” he said to Osric, and with that, the two appeared in the doorway.

Richard hadn’t thought that Jensen’s face could have been any colder, but as he took a seat at their table he watched Jensen’s face harden into a mask he had never seen before. He gave himself a shake, recalling his duties as host and rose to his feet. From the corner of his eye he saw Jensen reach for Jared’s hand and clasp it, raising his chin defiantly as he too stood up.

It could have been an unpleasant meeting. The amount of testosterone in the air was at an all-time high, but there was a sudden squeal of, “Jensen!” and a small blonde whirlwind suddenly charged across the room and hurled herself into her big brother’s arms. Mackenzie had been twelve years old when Jensen was arrested, and they hadn’t seen each other since. It seemed as if he had been missed. Wide eyed at the unexpected onslaught, Jensen staggered as she wrapped herself around him. Jared started to laugh as he surveyed the scene, and reached to ruffle his partner’s hair.

“Looks like you’ve grown another head,” he said as Jensen flapped his hands, dubiously patting his sister’s back as she burrowed against him. Alan was for the moment forgotten as Jensen concentrated on wrangling his sister into a position where he could look at her.

“We wanted to come see you so much,” she said, once he’d pried her off his neck and coaxed her into a chair beside him. “But we could never find you, and Richard said that you’re going away again after today, so here we are. I missed you, and Daddy said that...”

Her voice trailed away as Jensen turned back to where his father was standing, and they all followed suit, taking in Alan Ackles as he stood humbly waiting to be noticed. Richard had only ever seen Alan in the white uniform that the council of the Divine wore. It was a shock to see him now wearing serviceable denim. Alan’s hair was white now, and that seemed to be a shock to Jensen also, from the expression on his face.

Jensen reached for Jared’s hand again, and Richard saw him swallow repeatedly before he finally managed to speak.

“What happened, Dad? Did you finally decide to join the winning side?”

Alan drew in a sharp breath, but didn’t respond, merely bowing his head as he stood waiting. It was Mack who jabbed a fist into her brother’s ribs. “Don’t be so pissy,” she said. “He and Mom did so much to fight against Rolston after you were taken away. They wouldn’t let me help, but I know how hard they worked. You don’t know how bad it was in the last couple of years. They were going to re-educate me and Dad after Mom was killed, but you guys saved us.”

Nodding, Jensen stared at Alan, almost as if he was trying to see inside him. Finally he gave a sigh. “This is Jared. He and I are partners, lovers.” The challenge was unmistakable, and Richard held his breath as he waited to see what the reaction would be. Alan smiled and held out his hand to Jared.

“Glad to finally meet you. I was hoping to pick your brains sometime about that anti-grav mechanism in your ship.” Jared shook his hand, somewhat doubtfully, but listened as Alan continued. “I’ve been trying to get one to work like that for months. I had to leave my prototype on Mars, but I’ve started to build another one and I’d value your input.”

The conversation drifted off into techno-babble and Richard mentally patted himself on the back as Jensen turned back to his sister and started to hurl insults in true sibling fashion as he rubbed his sore ribs, “That could have gone far worse,” he muttered to himself as he turned to go and sort out his next chore.

Stepping through the newly installed hypergate, Richard took himself to the park where the afternoon’s festivities would take place. He saluted the statue that had been raised in honor of his friend Matt Cohen and took in the hive of activity going on around the area. Bleachers had been set up, and tables were arranged ready for the food that people would bring to share following the ceremony. To the side of Matt’s statue, workmen were busily putting the finishing touches to another memorial, one that contained three figures rather than the single sculpture that depicted Matt. Richard nodded to himself in approval. The design had been his own, and he’d managed to keep it a secret from everyone except Traci, who had sworn herself to secrecy.

He’d sketched it out, but it had been Alona, working with Rob, who had succeeded in crafting the new statue. It showed Sebastian and Misha standing together, supporting Donna, who was standing on their shoulders, reaching upwards towards the globe of the Earth, which balanced in her upheld right hand. Rob was perched on top of the crane that had lifted the new statue into place, and he waved at Richard before dropping the cover down over the statue to hide it until its unveiling later that day.

Scrambling down from his lofty position, Rob came to join Richard, his face glowing with pleasure as he stood surveying his handiwork. Rob had rapidly settled in and become a firm friend of the crew at Balance HQ, and Richard gave him a high five.

“If you’d asked me a week ago, I’d have laid odds on this not being ready on time,” he said to Rob. “Good work, man. I don’t know how you managed it.”

Laughing, Rob ducked his head at the praise. “I didn’t do too much. It was mostly ‘Lona who got it done. I just held the scalpel and mopped her brow.”

“You got it done between you, didn’t you? Thank you.” Richard breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like it was going to be a great day after all. “Now all I have to do is make sure Julian doesn’t forget it’s his wedding day, because he’s in the middle of building some new and awesome gadget, and we’ll call it a win. Speaking of which, I’d better go and find him or that’s likely to come to pass.”

Another trip through the hypergate found him at the reception hall in the Old Dallas College. There were only a few students around, since it was a holiday, and most of them would already be getting ready to converge on Tulsa for the afternoon’s festivities. He sent out a thought to Jake. “Is he anywhere near ready?”

“What do you think?” Jake sounded quietly amused. “He’s tinkering with something at the cellular level, and told me to come back in an hour when I last poked my head around the door. He did seem to be aware that today was the day, though. He said Traci would like this, whatever it is.”

Richard checked his PAD and nodded, then sent a thought to Julian. “Hey, Brains! In precisely 25 minutes Jake and I are coming in to get you, and we’ll use force if we have to. You’re getting married in an hour and a half, and Traci will kill me if I don’t deliver you on time.”

There was a snort from Julian. “Kill you? You underestimate her wrath,” he replied. “Fear not. I shall appear, washed, dressed and in my right mind, as the hour approaches.”

Sometime later, Richard turned as he saw Jake appear to lead him up to Julian’s new and splendid laboratory. After a brief greeting they made their way up the staircase that had once led them to Sheppard’s domain. Julian met them as they reached the top, “I do believe that you two are far more nervous about today than I am.”

“Traci loves you!” Richard snickered. “She’s not going to do anything permanent to you. She doesn’t love me or Jake here.”

“Nonsense! She’s a gentle soul.” Julian began to descend the stairs. “Are you coming? We don’t want to be late.”

~*~

The afternoon sun beamed down on the mass of people gathered in Woodward Park to celebrate the summer solstice. Richard had watched proudly as people gathered in happily gossiping bunches. They had all brought food to share, and Jim and his crew were standing by to fire up the barbecues for those who would like meat. As the time drew closer to 3pm, the crowd began to collect around the stage that had been erected earlier.

Richard made his way onto the podium amidst cheers and friendly catcalls from the crowd. Stepping up to the microphone, he surveyed the sea of faces.

“Some of you are used to reciting a prayer at this time, and if you want to, please go ahead. We of the Balance believe that we are all equal and that we are free to worship as we wish, harming none. I treasure the light as we all do, but I also treasure the darkness, the earth and the world of growing things we are building, May the light shine within us, and may we all learn to become accepting rather than acceptable beneath it.” He paused and took a sip of water as the crowd burst into applause.

“Many of you know Traci, the Seeress of Righteousness. Very few of you know her chosen partner, Julian, because he elected to remain outside of society in order to work for freedom. Today’s ceremony marks the end of his self-imposed exile and a new era of freedom for him as a fully-fledged member of our society. Those of you who came here today through the hypergates have already benefitted from Julian’s fertile brain, and he is teaching his skills to the attendees at the college in Old Dallas. Our society has risen from the poisons and toxins of the End Times. We’ve been given a new beginning thanks to heroes like Julian and we are learning that peace and cooperation are better than blind prejudice.”

Julian’s eyes were a little wild as he listened to Richard’s words, and as the crowd began to clap and cheer for him he looked as if he was about to turn tail. Jake, Nicki and Alona moved to gently guide him up onto the stage, where he stood looking dejected.

Surreptitiously beckoning Traci to come and join them, Richard took each of them by the hand. Julian had straightened up and now he gazed at his bride, and it was evident that he saw nobody else. He was saturnine in black, but his beloved had put on a dress that was every color of the rainbow, and which billowed and floated around her like multi-hued clouds. Her hair curled around her face, held back from her forehead by a garland of flowers, and her silver eyes were fixed on Julian. Richard cleared his throat.

“I’m going to bind your hands together,” he said, joining their hands before him. Nicki passed him a length of fabric that was evidently cut from the same bolt of cloth as Traci’s dress and he began to wind it around their clasped hands. “This is a symbol of your life henceforth. You are partners now and will face your future together. It’s time now to make your vows to each other. Traci?”

As Traci stepped forward, she reached to lay her other hand over where the two of them were tied together. Her voice was steady although Richard noticed that she was trembling.

“Julian,” she said softly. “I breathe in the twin energy-spirits of love that we call courage and compassion. I breathe out their dance into the future. This is our Oneness.”

There was a pause and then Julian laid his own hand on top of Traci’s. “I’m not a poet, and I don’t have pretty words to give you, only my heart, which you have always owned.”

There was a shout of, “Kiss her and let’s get to the good stuff,” from someone in the audience who sounded suspiciously like Jared, and then laughter and applause took over, deafening them as they complied.

As the happy couple were handed the large, two handled goblet filled with wine that they would drink to cement their bond, Richard stepped forward again. “I have one more duty to perform before I turn things over to the entertainers and let you all stuff your faces.” He gestured over to where the statue stood, shrouded in a thick, black veil. “Ten years ago I stood before some of you here and told you the story of Matt, the man who made our society possible. A lot has happened since that day, and I am sure that you know much of it. However, there are three to whom we owe our present celebration, and without whom this day would not have come. I’ve asked for this monument to be made to remind us of the ones who gave their lives to make our world the amazing place it is. So that we may preserve their memory forever, I dedicate this statue to Donna Ackles, who worked tirelessly to bring the people of Righteousness home; to Sebastian Roche, who fought alongside us and died saving Julian’s life because he believed that Julian’s life was worth more to our future than his own; and to Misha Collins, whose life was lost when the insane Rolston destroyed Righteousness.

There was silence then as the veil was pulled away from the statue. Richard saw tears spring to Julian’s eyes, and then watched Jared put his arms around Jensen and pull him close. The crowd was silent for a beat longer, and then applause began, growing louder and louder until it was like thunder.

The schedule of events was complete save for the party. A band came up onto the stage to play and the barbecues were all fired up ready for food to be cooked.

As the party began to go with a swing, Richard made his way over to where Jensen and Jared were slowly making their way over to the hypergate. “Not so fast, Buckos!” he called.

Turning back towards him, he saw that the two men both wore guilty expressions on their faces. “Richard, hi! What’s up?” Jensen gave him his best innocent look.

“You running out on me?” Richard reached them and put his arms around the pair of them. “I’m hurt that you didn’t say goodbye.”

“Thought you’d be busy with all of this going on,” said Jared. “Didn’t want to interrupt you when you were wearing your leader’s hat.”

“Yeah? About that.” Richard bit his lip and met Jensen’s gaze. “You absolutely sure that you don’t want to stay in government for a little while longer?”

“Richard, ten years is long enough for anyone. I may come back, but for now I need a rest and a break from stress. I need to reconnect with this guy here and not be wondering if he’s forgotten what I look like.” Jensen smiled a little sadly. “So we’re going to travel a little. Julian reckons that the fish will reach here for a long time, and we need to do some testing on that. It certainly worked when we were in our approach orbit, but we don’t know the range of it at all. We’re going to find out if there are any communities to the west. We wanted to see what the ocean looks like, how badly it was affected by the End Times. Do you realize that most of the people in our community don’t even know that such a thing exists? Once we reach it, we’re going to head north and check out the lights that we saw when we were in orbit. They must be man-made. We’re taking Jared’s truck, and a replicator that’s been specifically set up to create a hypergate, and whenever we find a community that we should establish communications with, we’ll set one up.”

“I’ll bring him home safely,” murmured Jared. “We’ll be back in a year or so.”

Richard nodded sadly. ”Well, okay, guys. I’ll miss you.” He hugged each of them in turn before stepping away. “Catch you on the flip side then, yeah?”

Jensen and Jared nodded and turned away. Richard stood and watched them go, hand in hand, and stood for a long moment after they had passed from his view. Then he heaved a heavy sigh and turned back to rejoin the celebrations.

**Author's Note:**

> Last year, [ **candygramme**](http://candygramme.livejournal.com/) and [ **spoonlessone**](http://spoonlessone.livejournal.com/) wrote our first spn_j2_bigbang story together and had such a great time, we just had to do it again. And while last year's story was finished and complete, we felt there was more to be told in this world, so this is that new story. We hope you enjoy it. 
> 
>  
> 
> Big Thankyous:
> 
> We are so grateful to [ **laurathelurker**](http://laurathelurker.livejournal.com/) for agreeing to beta for us again. You did such an excellent job for us again this year. Thank you so much! 
> 
> Many, many thanks to to our artist, [ **fanlay**](http://fanlay.livejournal.com/). It is such an amazing feeling to see our work illustrated in such a fashion. Please accept our gratitude. 
> 
> And most of all, our eternal gratitude to [ **wendy**](http://wendy.livejournal.com/) for running such an amazing challenge year after year. The fandom as a whole and we personally owe so much to her tireless efforts. Not only do we have all these amazing stories from all the years but she makes the whole process flow smoothly, putting out fires (whether it's accommodating last minute requests for different posting dates, or as in other years, finding last minute pinch-hitters), soothing our fears, and generally making this challenge a pleasure to create for. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.


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